Solar month is the time in which the sun runs through one entire sign of the ecliptic, the mean quantity of which is 30 days, 10 hours, 29 minutes, 5 seconds, being the 12th part of 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, the mean solar year. Astronomical, or natural month, is that measured by some exact interval, corresponding to the motion of the sun or moon; such are the lunar and solar months above mentioned. Civil, or common month, is an interval of a certain number of whole days, approaching nearly to the quantity of some astronomical month. These may be either lunar or solar. The civil lunar month consists alternately of 29 and 30 days. Thus will two civil months be equal to two astronomical ones, abating for the odd minutes; and so the new moon will be kept to the first day of such civil months, for a long time together. This was the month in civil or common use, among the Jews, Greeks and Romans, till the time of Julius Cæsar. The civil solar month consisted alternately of 30 and 31 days, excepting one month of the 12, which consisted only of 29 days, but every fourth year of 30 days. The form of civil months was introduced by Julius Cæsar. Under Augustus, the sixth month (till then, from its place, called Sextilis) received the name Augustus (now August), in honor of that prince; and, to make the compliment still greater, a day was added to it, which made it consist of 31 days, though, till then, it had only contained 30 days; to compensate for which a day was taken from February, making it consist of 28 days, and 29 every fourth year. Such are the civil or calendar months now used through Europe.-Month, in English statutes is a lunar month, of 28 days, unless otherwise expressed.

MONTHOLON, Charles Tristan, count de, justly celebrated for his generous adherence to the fallen fortunes of his illustrious master, was born at Paris, in 1783. His father was colonel of a regiment of dragoons, and young Montholon entered the army at the age of 15. He commenced his career by serving under Bonaparte, on the celebrated day of the 18th of Brumaire, and was in the list of the officers who received swords, as marks of distinction, from the first consul, on that occasion. Appointed aid-de-camp to marshal Berthier, before he had attained the age of 21, he served in that capacity, in every campaign subsequent to that period, and distinguished himself, particularly at the battles of Austerlitz, Wagram, Jena and Friedland. During a time when the

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state of his health, and the effects of his wounds, did not permit him to undergo the fatigues of actual military service, Napoleon employed him in various important missions, and attached him to his own person, as one of his chamberlains. He was afterwards appointed to the command of the department of the Loire, and was proceeding to oppose a vigorous resistance to the Austrians, when he received the news of the emperor's abdication. His first thought was to resign his command, and hasten to his master at Versailles. From this hour, his fate and that of Napoleon became inseparable. He held the rank of general during the hundred days. He served Napoleon as chamberlain, after the battle of Waterloo, both at the palace Elysée and at Malmaison; and, finally, with his wife and children, voluntarily partook of the ex-emperor's imprisonment at St. Helena, and continued with him till the period of his decease. He was executor of the emperor, and has since returned to Paris, where, in connexion with Gourgaud, he edited the MSS. of Napoleon.

MONTI VINCENZO, one of the most cel ebrated modern poets of Italy, born at Fusignano, in the territory of Ferrara, about 1753, studied at Ferrara, after which he went to Rome, where he found patrons, and was appointed secretary of Luigi Braschi, nephew of the pope. As he wore the clerical dress, he was called abbate Monti. The Arcadia received him as a member. Excited by the fame of Alfieri, he wrote two tragedies-Galeotto Manfredo, and Aristodemo-the splendid style of which was indeed admired, but the plots were thought too tragic, and dramatic action was wanting. The murder of the French ambassador Basseville, at Rome, gave occasion to the poem Basvilliana, in which he closely imitates Dante. This work, distinguished for the splendor of some of its passages, gained him a well-deserved reputation. Two other poems, the Musogonu and Feroniade, are less known in their original form,for, the French having soon after entered Rome, the author suppressed the first edition, and prepared a second, in which the reproaches formerly directed against Bonaparte and his army were levelled against the allied princes. Monti was now appointed secretary of the directory of the Cisalpine republic in Mi lan. He was accused, indeed, of having acted, on a mission to Romagna, the par of a new Verres; but his verses, in which he artfully flattered the existing powers kept him in office. The campaign of

Suwaroff in Italy, in 1799, obliged him to flee to France. The battle of Marengo restored him to Milan, where he sung the Death of Mascheroni. This poem excited almost as much admiration as the Basvilliana, but, as some satirical hits gave of fence, he did not finish it. He was scarcely appointed professor of belles-lettres at the college of Brera when he received an invitation to Pavia, as professor of eloquence; but Napoleon appointed him historiographer of the kingdom of Italy, with the charge of celebrating his achieve ments. Accordingly the poet composed his Bardo della Selva nera, of which six cantos appeared in 1806. This very singular work met with strong disapprobation, against which Monti attempted a vindication, in a letter to Bettinelli. He then went to Naples to join Joseph Bonaparte, where he published the seventh canto of the Bardo, which was received with no more approbation. His tragedy Cajo Gracco likewise found little favor, as also some musical dramas. The poetry was considered as too close an imitation of Dante, though not without many beauties, Monti now translated the Satires of Juvenal, and (without, as he confessed himself, understanding Greek) the Iliad of Homer. In 1815, he composed for the city of Milan a cantata in honor of the emperor Francis. He died in October, 1828. Monti cannot be denied the praise of great poetic talent; his countrymen called him il Dante engentilito. His Proposta di alcune Correzioni ed Aggiunte al Vocabolario della Crusca contains a treasure of critical and lexicographical information on the Italian language. A complete edition of his works, with a notice of his life, has been announced by his daughter.

MONTICELLO; a conical hill, on which is the house formerly the residence of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the U. States. It is situated in Albemarle county, Virginia, two miles southeast of Charlottesville; lon. 78° 48′ W.; lat. 38° 8' N. The summit on which the house stands is 580 feet above Rivanna river, which flows at its base, and affords an extensive and beautiful prospect. The house has lately been sold.

MONTLOSIER, François Dominique Regnault, count de, is descended of an ancient family of the province of Auvergne, in which province he was born about 1760. In 1789, he was chosen deputy to the states-general, by the nobility of Riom. It was not, however, till after the events of the 5th and 6th of October, in that year that he began to take a conspicuous

part in that assembly. From that period, he came forward, on every occasion, as one of the most determined of the royalist party, and sometimes carried his zeal to a length which was prejudicial to the cause that he espoused. He did infinite mischief to the monarch, by his opposition to Mirabeau, at a moment when that orator was desirous of giving his powerful support to the tottering throne. In 1791, he was guilty of a great want of foresight, in voting for the self-denying decree, which ordered that the members of the national assembly should not be elected to the ensuing legislative body. By this absurd decree, all political influence was thrown into the hands of those who were hostile to the monarchy. M. Montlosier emigrated, and, after having been employed on the continent till 1794, he settled in England, where he became the proprietor and editor of the Courrier de Londres, which he conducted on the same principles that he had manifested in the national assembly. In 1800, he was selected to proceed to Paris, for the purpose of proposing to Bonaparte a sovereignty in Italy, on condition of his restoring the Bourbons to the throne of France. He was arrested at Calais, and conveyed to the Temple, where, however, he was con fined only 36 hours, Fouché having declared that the arrest arose from a mistake; but he was, at the same time, ordered to quit France in ten days. During those ten days, he had secret audiences of the minister for the foreign department, who informed him, ostensibly in confidence that it was the design of the first consul to reestablish the ancient church of France, to recall the emigrants, and restore the unsold property, and to destroy the rem nants of Jacobinism, and bring back social order. On his return to England, Montlosier began to change the tone of his journal; and the British government, in consequence, withdrew its protection from him. In 1801, the ministers of the police and foreign department invited him back to his country, and he accepted the invitation. He settled at Paris, and continued his journal there, but dropped it at the end of three months, and was placed in the office of the foreign department. Though he did not give his vote on the subject of raising Napoleon to the imperial dignity, yet he retained his place. The emperor, soon after, ordered him to write a work on the ancient monarchy, and the causes of the revolution-a task on which Montlosier was occupied for four years; and he next employed him, for 15 months,

as his regular correspondent on political affairs. About the close of 1812, Montlosier requested permission to travel in Italy, for the purpose of making inquiries in natural history—a pursuit which he had formerly preferred to all others. His request was granted, and he was liberally supplied with the means of travelling in comfort. After the first restoration, he published his work On the French Monarchy, from its Establishment to the present Period (3 vols., 8vo.), to which he subsequently added several supplementary volumes, bringing it down to the year 1821. He refused to vote for the additional act, proposed by Napoleon; but he was, nevertheless, removed from office on the second return of the Bourbons. For feudal institutions Montlosier has a violent and absurd predilection, somewhat remarkable in a man of the nineteenth century. His Mémoire sur un Système religieux et politique, tendant à renverser la Religion, la Société et le Trône (1826), directed against the Jesuits and ultra-mountainists, excited much attention.

MONTMARTRE ; a village and height near Paris, rendered celebrated in recent history by the military events of which it was the theatre during the two occupations of the French capital by the allied forces. According to some, it derives its name Mons Martis) from a temple of Mars which formerly stood on its summit; it was afterwards called Mons Mercurii (probably because the temple was converted to his service); and, at a later period, in consequence of the death of St. Denis and his disciples here, it acquired the name of Mons Martyrum; and a chapel took the place of the heathen temple. In the war with Lothaire (978), the chronicles relate that Otho II, emperor of Germany, caused a hallelujah to be chanted by the monks from the heights of Montmartre, with such a power of lungs as to terrify all Paris. In 1096, Bouchard de Montmorency, to whom it belonged, founded a convent of monks here, which, in 1133, was converted into a nunnery by queen Adélaïde (wife of Louis le Gros). This abbey afterwards became noted for the dissolute manners of its inmates. Henry IV, during the siege of Paris, fixed his Lead-quarters here. When the allies entered France, in 1814, Napoleon caused the neights to be fortified; and about 15,000 men defended it a whole day against 40,000 of the allied troops. Montmartre was again fortified in 1815, but was not attacked. It affords a good view of the capital, and is occupied by country

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seats and several charitable instutions and manufactories. Large quanties of plaster of Paris are obtained from its quarries. MONTMIRAIL, BATTLE OF, in 1814. (See Chatillon.)

MONTMORENCY, or ENGHIEN; a village about nine miles from Paris, situated on a rising ground, which overlooks the celebrated valley of Montmorency, on the borders of the forest of the same name. In this beautiful valley is the hermitage where Rousseau wrote his Émile, and his Nouvelle Héloïse, and which was afterwards occupied by Grétry. The garden attached to it contains a bust of the former, and a marble monument to the memory of the latter. Montmorency is now a watering-place, containing sulphureous springs, which supply 400 baths a day. The vicinity affords agreeable walks.

MONTMORENCY, Anne de, peer, marshal, and constable of France, born in 1493, one of the greatest generals of the 16th century, distinguished himself under Francis I in the wars against Charles V, and followed his sovereign to Italy, where he was made prisoner with him at the battle of Pavia (1525), which was fought against his advice. Francis conferred on him the dignity of constable in 1538, on account of his important public services. He afterwards, however, lost the favor of the king, on account of his having advised him to trust to the professions of Charles, who, while in France, promised the restoration of Milan. In the reign of Henry II, Montmorency recovered his former influence, but, owing to the hatred of Catharine of Medici, lost his consideration in the reign of Francis II. The risings of the Huguenots occasioned his recall to the court of Charles IX, and he joined the duke of Guise in opposition to Condé, who was at the head of the Protestants. The consequence was a civil war, which broke out in 1562. In the battle of Dreux, Montmorency was made prisoner by the Huguenots, and Condé was captured by the royal troops. The former was liberated the next year, and in the second civil war gained a decisive victory over the Huguenots, November 10, 1567, but died of the wounds received in the action, at the age of 74 years.

MONTMORENCY, Henry II, duke de, born 1595, was in his 18th year created admiral of France. After having defeated the Calvinists in Languedoc, and taken from them several strong places, hu gained a victory over them by sea, near the island of Ré, which fell into his hands. In 1628, he gained decisive advantages

over the duke de Rohan, leader of the Huguenots. During the war against Mantua, in 1630, he held the chief command in Piedmont, and defeated the Spaniards under Doria, although they were superior to him in number. This victory was followed by the relief of Casale, and his services were rewarded with the marshal's baton. Montmorency now thought himself powerful enough to brave the influence of Richelieu, and, with Gaston, duke of Orleans, who was equally dissatisfied with the cardinal, raised the standard of rebellion in Languedoc. La Force and Schomberg were sent against them; they met at Castelnaudary, and Montmorency, who, to inspirit his men, had thrown himself into the royal ranks, was wounded and made prisoner. Gaston remained inactive. All France, mindful of his services, his virtues, and his victories, desired that the rigor of the laws might be softened in his favor; but Richelieu was resolved to make an example of the bravest, most generous and most a:niable man in France, and the marshal was condemned to death by the parliament of Thoulouse. The king extended his mercy so far as to allow the execution to be private, and it took place in the hôtel de ville, in Thoulouse, October 30, 1632.

MONTMORENCY, FALLS OF; a beautiful cascade, on a river of the same name, in Lower Canada, seven miles below Quebec. The falls are very near the junction of this river with the St. Lawrence. The breadth of the river at the top of the cascade is about 100 feet, and the perpendicular descent 246 feet.

MONTPELIER; a post-town of Washington county, Vermont, 36 miles south-west of Burlington, and 140 north by west from Boston; lat. 44° 16′ N.; lon. 72° 35′ W.; from Washington city 524 miles; population in 1820, 2308; in 1830 the whole town contained 2985, and the village 1193. Montpelier is the permanent seat of government for Vermont, and the shire town of the county of Washington. The village was incorporated in 1818: it is situated in the south-west part of the township, on the north bank of Onion river, and contains a commodious state-house, built of wood, a court-house, a jail, an academy, a meeting-house, and the number of school-houses, workshops, stores, taverns and lawyers' offices usually found in New England villages of this size. The academy is flourishing. Onion river affords at this place good seats for manufactories. The situation of the village is ow and is rendered somewhat unpleasant

by the proximity of the hills. It is about ten miles north-east from the geographica. centre of the state, and is a great thoroughfare, the travel passing through it in all directions..

MONTPELLIER; a city of France, capiital of Hérault; lon. 3° 53′ E.; lat. 43° 36′ N.; 70 miles north-west of Marseilles, 375 miles from Paris. It is an episcopal see. Population, 35,850. It is situated five miles from the sea, between the small rivers Masson and Lez, on a declivity. Many of the streets are steep and irregular, and in the interior of the town they are winding, narrow and dark. In the suburbs are the most regular streets, and the best houses; the buildings are mostly of stone. It contains a cathedral, numerous churches, hospitals, and other charitable institutions. The public promenade, called Peyrou, is one of the finest in Enrope; an equestrian statue of Louis XIV was erected in it in 1829. Montpellier has long been the seat of a celebrated university, particularly famous for its school of medicine; this still subsists, under the name of an academy, and has three faculties. The anatomical theatre is capable of containing 2000 persons. Other establishments are a botanical garden, museum, cabinet of natural history and anatomy, the observatory, and public library of 35,000 volumes and many valuable manuscripts. It is defended by a citadel, which commands the town and neighborhood. The principal manufacture is verdigris, in which it carries on a considerable trade, as also in wool, which is brought from the Mediterranean; wine, aqua vitæ, Hungary water, cinnamon water, essence of bergamot, lemons, &c., and likewise great quantities of woollen carpets, fustians, and silk stockings. These commodities are sent by the canal to Cette, which is the seaport of Montpellier. This town is particularly celebrated for the salubrity of its air, and for its extensive and interesting prospects, which on the one hand embrace the Pyrenees, and on the other the Alps. It is much visited by invalids from foreign

countries.

MONTPENSIER, Ann Maria Louise, of Orleans (usually known as mademoiselle de), was born at Paris in 1627. Her father, Gaston, duke of Orleans, bequeathed his eccentric, impetuous and vindictive temper to his daughter. She joined the faction of Condé in the war of the Fronde, and had the boldness to fire upon the troops of Louis XIV from the Bastile. This outrage awakened the hostility of the king and the court against her, so that they

opposed every plan of marriage which was agreeable to her, and made only such propositions as she could not but refuse. At the age of 44, she determined to give her hand to count Lauzun. She obtained permission to take this step, and brought him a fortune of 20,000,000 francs, four duchies, the seigneury of Dombes, the county of Eu and the palace of Luxembourg. The contract was already concluded when the queen and the prince of Condé persuaded Louis XIV to retract his consent. It has been supposed, how ever, that the parties were secretly married; but it is not settled whether it was before or after the ten years imprisonment of Lauzun, at Pignerol, for his conduct towards Mad. Montespan. He finally obtained his freedom on condition that the duchess should cede the seigneury of Dombes and the county of Eu to the duke of Maine. She gladly consented to this sacrifice for the sake of living with him; but her happiness was of short duration. Lauzun saw in her a violent and ambitious woman, yet glowing with the passions of youth, and she looked upon him as ungrateful, perfidious and false. His insofence finally so exasperated the princess, that she forbade him ever to appear again in her presence. She lived in retirement from that time, and died in 1693, little regretted and almost forgotten. Her Memoirs are interesting.

MONTREAL; a city of Lower Canada, the first in size, and the second in rank, in that province. It is in a district of the same name, and on the south side of the island of Montreal, in the St. Lawrence, at the head of ship navigation. It is 180 miles above Quebec, 200 below lake Ontario, 243 from Albany, and 300 from Boston; lat. 45° 30′ N.; lon. 73° 22′ W.; population, in 1821, 18,767; in 1830, about 25,000. The harbor, though not large, is always secure for shipping curing the time that the river is not frozen; and vessels drawing fifteen feet of water can lie close to the shore. The general depth of water is from three to four and a half fathoms. The greatest inconvenience is the rapid of St. Mary, about a mile below the city vessels cannot ascend this without a strong wind from the north-east. Montreal is divided into Upper and Lower towns, but one is very little elevated above the other. The streets are for the most part laid out in a regular manner, generally rather narrow, excepting the new ones. The houses are mostly built of grayish stone, with roofs covered with sheet-iron or tin. Many of them are large and hand

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some, and in modern style. The principal public buildings are the general hospital, the Hotel Dieu, the convent of Notre Dame, a magnificent French cathedral an English church, the Catholic seminary, the Protestant college, the court-house, and the government-house. Montreal is the great emporium of the fur trade, which is of vast extent and importance. It is also the channel through which commerce is carried on between Canada and the U. States. A canal, nine miles long, has been completed around one of the rapids below the city, called the Lachine canal. A regular steam-boat communication is kept up, during the summer, between Montreal and Quebec. A great portion of the inhabitants are of French descent; and the French and English languages are about equally spoken in the transaction of ordinary business, and even in the courts of justice. There is a college at Montreal, styled university of McGill college, endowed by the late honorable James McGill, and chartered in 1821. Its governors are the governor in chief, the lieutenant-governors of Lower and Upper Canada, the lord bishop of Quebec, the chief-justice of Upper Canada, and the chief-justice of Montreal, for the time being. It has a principal and eight professors. There is another institution, called the college of Montreal, which has a principal and four professors. The mechanic's institution, the natural history society, the library of 8000 volumes, and the advocate's library, are of great utility.

MONTREAL; an island of Lower Canada, in the river St. Lawrence, at the confluence of Ottawa river, 32 miles long and 10 broad. It forms the county of Montreal, and is divided into nine parishes. In general, its surface is level, and it is extremely fertile. The largest mountain on the island is one mile distant from tho city. The base is surrounded by neat country houses and gardens, and the mountain itself is covered with lofty trees. The view, from this elevation, embraces the city, the river, and a wide extent of the surrounding country.

MONTROSE, James Graham, marquis of, a distinguished royalist under Charles I, descended from the royal family of Scotland. He entered the Scotch guards in France. On his return, he excited the jealousy of the marquis of Hamilton, in consequence of which he met with such neglect that he joined the covenanters, but, afterwards returning to the royal side. he was zealous in his service of the king, and gained the battles of Perth, Aberdeen