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with a piazza in front of a receding centre." George Ticknor (in 1815).

"This venerated mansion is yet standing, though somewhat dilapidated, and deprived of its former beauty by neglect. The furniture of the distinguished owner is nearly all gone, except a few pictures and mirrors; otherwise the interior of the house is the same as when Jefferson died. It is upon an eminence, with many aspen trees around it, and commands a view of the Blue Ridge for 150 miles on one side, and on the other one of the most beautiful and extensive landscapes in the world." Lossing.

As from the grave where Henry sleeps,
From Vernon's weeping willow,
And from the grassy pall which hides
The Sage of Monticello.

Whittier.

The nursling growth of Monticello's crest Is now the glory of the free North-west. Whittier.

Montmartre. A hill on the north of Paris, rising 320 feet above the Seine, and said to have been so called because St. Denis suffered martyrdom here. A nunnery was formerly situated on the summit; and here was the Chapelle des Martyrs, where in 1534 Ignatius Loyola and followers took the vow in which the Order of the Jesuits had its origin. The cemetery on the south slope of the hill is the oldest in Paris, though smaller and less important than Père-la-Chaise.

The outbreak

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the place, near Paris, where its meetings were held. Montserrat. See MONSERRAT. Monument, The. A stone column, 202 feet in height, Fish Street Hill, London, erected by Sir Christopher Wren (1671-1680) to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, and the rebuilding of the city. The following inscription, now effaced, was cut in 1681 upon the pedestal: "This pillar was set up in perpetual remembrance of that most dreadful burning of this Protestant city, begun and carried on by ye treachery and malice of ye popish factio, in ye beginning of Septem, in ye year of our Lord 1666, in order to ye carrying on of their horrid plott for extirpating the Protestant religion and old English liberty, and the introducing popery and slavery."

"Six persons have thrown themselves off the Monument. This kind of death becoming popular, it was deemed advisable to encage and disfigure the Monument as we now see it." Murray's Handbook. Where London's column, pointing at the skies, Like a tall bully, lifts the head and lies, Pope.

Electricity cannot be made fast, mortared up and ended, like London Monument, or the Tower, so that you shall know where to find it, and keep it fixed, as the English do with their things, forEmerson.

evermore.

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of the most eminent men and women in the State, lost their lives.

Moonrise at Madeira. A picture by Ferdinand T. Hildebrandt (b. 1804). In the Corcoran Gallery, Washington.

Morgue. [Fr. La Morgue.] In Paris and other cities of France a place where dead bodies that have been found are deposited for purposes of recognition by the relatives or friends of the deceased. The name is also used in other countries. The morgue in Paris is a small, low building, within which the bodies are laid upon a stone platform until they are identified or claimed by friends. Strange as it may seem, it is visited by crowds of people. See

Moorfields. A part of old London, now covered by Finsbury Square and adjoining streets, so called from the great fen or moor which bordered the walls of the city on the north side. It was a place for walking and recreation. FINSBURY.

Through famed Moorfields extends a spacious seat. Gay. Moors, Three. See DREI MOHREN.

Moot of Urr. A curious monument of antiquity, near Dalbeattie, Scotland, in the form of a circular mound enclosed by a moat. It is supposed to have been used as a council-place and tribunal of justice by the Celts in ancient times.

Moothill. An

eminence near Scone, Scotland, where the Scottish kings sat to hold parliaments and law courts.

Mora Stone. [Mora stena.] A place about one mile from the city of Upsala, in Sweden, celebrated as the spot where the Swedish kings were formerly elected, and where they received the homage of their subjects. The Mora Stone is composed, in fact, of eleven stones of various sizes, bearing the names and dates of the kings elected here. A house was built by Gustavus III., in 1780, to enclose this interesting national

monument.

"Morett," The. A celebrated por

trait by Hans Holbein the Younger (1498-1543), in the Gallery of Dresden, Saxony, and regarded as one of the finest of his works. "It is not known whom it represents. Thomas Morett was a distinguished jeweller who served Henry VIII., and was a friend of Holbein."

"On the whole, I left my posi tion in the corner impressed with an opinion, since strengthened by reflec tion, that La Morgue at Paris is a plague-spot that must inevitably, more or less, demoralize every person who views it." Sir Francis B. Head.

Only the Doric little Morgue,
The dead-house where you show your
drowned.

Petrarch's Vaucluse makes proud the
Sorgue,

Your Morgue has made the Seine re-
nowned.
Robert Browning.

Moriah. A hill in Jerusalem, Pal-
estine, the position of which is
beyond dispute. It was the site
of the great Jewish Temple, and
is associated with many sacred
events in the history of the He-
brew nation. Upon this hill now
stands the great structure of the
Haram, with its mosques. See
HARAM.

Mormon Temple. 1. A building of polished limestone, about 130 feet in length, by 90 feet in breadth, which formerly stood in Nauvoo City, Ill. It was the chief religious edifice of the Mormons, who had settled in the place in 1840, and was built at a cost of over $500,000. In the basement was a huge stone baptistery or basin, resting upon 12 oxen of colossal size. The Mormons afterwards made their way to Utah, and settled there. The building is now in ruins.

2. An unfinished building in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. It is designed to be the magnifi

cent seat of Mormon worship. The foundation was laid some 25 years ago, and immense sums of money have been raised to defray the cost of its erection; but whether it will ever be completed, is extremely doubtful.

Morning, The. One of four colossal figures executed by Michael Angelo Buonarotti (1475-1564). In the church of S. Lorenzo, Florence, Italy.

"This figure [The Morning] is the most beautiful of all. It is also the most finished. Whilst in the others the heads are only roughly designed, every line of the face in this possesses a spiritual meaning." Grimm, Trans. Morning. A picture by Sir Edwin Landseer (1803-1873), the eminent English painter.

Morrin College. A collegiate establishment in Quebec, Canada. Morris House. An old colonial mansion near High Bridge, N.Y. It was the headquarters of Washington in 1776.

Morrison's Cove. A valley in Pennsylvania, near Petersburgh, settled about the middle of the last century by a peculiar German sect called the Dunkards, who professed the principles of non-resistance. When in 1777 the community was attacked by the Indians, the settlers faithfully carried out their doctrine in practice, and most of them were put to death.

Morton Castle. A feudal mansion,

said to have been founded in the eleventh century, near Thornhill, Scotland, now belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch.

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"The eye does not know where to rest in this, the masterpiece of sculpture since the time of the Greeks.. Yes! there is something infinite which lies in the Moses of Michael Angelo.

This statue might take its place in the cell of a colossal temple, as that of Jupiter Ammon; but the tomb where it is placed is so little suited to it that regarded even only as its frame it is too small." Gregorovius.

"Whoever has once seen this statue must retain the impression of it forever. The Moses is the crown of modern sculpture, not only in idea, but also with regard to the work. All the power which Michael Angelo possessed, and which the world did not understand, was exhibited in those limbs, and the demon-like, passionate violence of the pope [Julius II.] in that counteGrimm, Trans.

nance.

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"We went as far as San Pietro in Vincoli to see the Moses' of Michael Angelo. The first sight of the statue is less surprising than one would supWe are familiar with it enpose. graved and reduced; the imagination, as is always the case, has exaggerated it; moreover, it is polished and finished It is in a with extreme perfection. brilliantly decorated church, and is framed in by a handsome chapel. As you dwell on it, however, the colossal mass produces its effect. You feel the imperious will, the ascendancy, the tragic energy, of the legislator and exterminator; his heroic muscles and virile beard indicate the primitive barbarian, the subduer of men, while the long head and the projections of the temple denote the ascetic. Were he to arise, what action and what a lion's voice!" Taine, Trans.

There is the Moses, the grandest figure that was ever carved in stone. It has about it something frightfully majestic, if one may so speak. Thackeray.

Moses. A fresco by Francesco Mazzuoli, surnamed Il Parmigiano (1503-1540). In the church of Della Steccata, Parma, Italy. Moses and the Burning Bush. A fresco by Raphael Sanzio (14831520). In the Stanza of the Heliodorus, in the Vatican, Rome. Moses and the Israelites. A fresco painting by Cosimo Rosselli (14391506). In the Sistine Chapel, Rome.

Moses and Zipporah. A fresco by Luca Signorelli (da Cortona) (14411521). In the Sistine Chapel, Rome.

Moses, Choice of. A picture by Giorgio Barbarelli, commonly called Giorgione (1477-1511). In the Uffizi Palace, Florence, Italy. Moses, Fountains of. See FOUNTAINS OF MOSES.

Moses Striking the Rock. A picture by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618-1682), considered one of his masterpieces. In Seville, Spain.

"No man ever stood before the works of Murillo here [in Seville], . his Moses opening the Rock, - and yet could be guilty of breathing a single regret at the recollections of Italy. The wonderful genius of Murillo can be studied and felt nowhere but at Seville, where he lived and died, and whose cathedral, convents and houses are full of his works."

George Ticknor.

Mosque el-Aksa. This structure, situated within the enclosure of the Haram at Jerusalem, is supposed to be of the same outline and to occupy the same site as a magnificent basilica built in the sixth century in honor of the Virgin by the emperor Justinian. De Vogüé says that the present edifice is of Arabian construction, built upon the ruins of a Christian church as substructure. Mr. Fergusson declares that it is entirely a Mohammedan structure, and not the Mary Church of Justinian. This mosque is in the

form of a basilica, consisting of seven aisles, and covering in all an area of about 50,000 square feet.

Mosque of Ahmed ebn Tooloon. This mosque, usually called the Jama (Gama) Tooloon, is the oldest in Cairo, Egypt, dating from 879 A D. It is architecturally interesting because it shows that the pointed arch was used in Egypt about 300 years before it was introduced into Europe. Mosque of Amer. An interesting mosque at Old Cairo, Egypt, now in a state of partial decay. Mosque of Azhar. A large mosque at Cairo, Egypt, founded about 970, and afterwards rebuilt and enlarged. Here is the chief university of the East, containing about 300 professors, and nearly 10,000 students.

va.

Mosque (or Cathedral) of CordoA grand church, formerly a Moorish mosque, in Cordova, Spain. It was begun by Abderrahman I. in 786, and until 1528 remained precisely as the Moors left it; and even now the alterations are inconsiderable. It is still called the Mezquita, the mosque. It is now converted into the Catholic church of the city.

"The grandest of all the monuments of Arabic architecture, for between Bagdad and the Pillars of Hercules nothing to be compared to it is to be found. It is one of the largest churches in the world. The coup d'œil on entering is magnificent. Nothing but St. Peter's equals it; not even the vast Gothic churches of the North, or the Cathedral of Milan, besides that it has the charm of entire novelty in its form, style, and tone."

George Ticknor.

"As far as the history of architecture is concerned, by far the most interesting building in Spain is this Mosque of Cordoba. It was the first important building commenced by the Moors, and was enlarged and ornamented by successive rulers, so that it contains specimens of all the styles current in Spain from the earliest times till the building of the Alhambra, which was in the latest age of Moorish art. This celebrated mosque was com

menced by Caliph Abd-el-Rahman, in the year 786, and completed by his son Hesham, who died 796. . . . It covers 157,500 square feet, being a larger superficies than that of any Christian church except that of St. Peter's at Rome. It is, however, sadly deficient in height, being only about 30 feet high to the roofs, and also wants subordination of parts." Fergusson.

In Cordova's grand cathedral
Stand the pillars thirteen hundred;
Thirteen hundred giant pillars
Bear the cupola, that wonder.

Moorish monarchs once erected
This fair pile to Allah's glory;
But in the wild, dark whirl of ages
Many a change has stolen o'er it.
Heine, Trans.
And in whose mosque Almanzor hung
As lamps the bells that once had rung
At Compostella's shrine.
Longfellow.

Mosque of Kaitbey. A beautiful
Mohammedan temple in Cairo,
Egypt.

"Looked at externally or internally, nothing can exceed the grace of every part of this building. Its small dimensions exclude it from any claim to grandeur, nor does it pretend to the purity of the Greek and some other styles; but as a perfect model of the elegance we generally associate with the architecture of this people, it is perhaps unrivalled by any thing in Egypt, and far surpasses the Alhambra or the other western buildings of its age." Fergusson.

Mosque of Mohammed Ali. This mosque at Cairo, Egypt, was begun by Mohammed Ali, and finished after his death. It is not admired for its architecture; but a good effect is however produced by the richness of the materials used, and by the vast size of the structure. It is of Oriental alabaster, with the exception of the outer walls. A fine view can be obtained from this mosque.

Miss Martineau says of the view from the mosque: " In the evening the beauty is beyond description. The vastness of the city, as it lies stretched below, surprises every one." After speaking of the more distant objects to be seen the Pyramids, etc., adds: "This view is the great sight of Cairo, and that which the stranger contrives to bring into his plan for almost every day."

she

The great lion of the place. . . . It is built of alabaster of a fair white, with a delicate blushing tinge; but the ornaments are European-the noble, fantastic, beautiful Oriental art is forgotten. Thackeray.

Mosque of Omar. This mosque (Kubbet es-Sukhrah, "the Dome of the Rock") covers the site long occupied by the great Jewish temples on the heights of Mount Moriah, in Jerusalem. It is very beautiful, being built of variegated marbles, with a splendid dome, fine arches and arcades, surrounded by green lawns dotted by cypress - trees. On the Mohammedan Sabbath it presents a very cheerful spectacle, worshippers being at prayers under the cypress-trees, women, Mohammedan nuns, sitting about the lawns, and children sitting upon the grass. Any Christian who should enter even the outermost court of the mosque would be liable to immediate death by stoning, and even an approach to it subjects him to insult. The

Caliph Omar built this mosque, according to the common tradition, over the celebrated rock esSukhrah. The Arab historians say, however, that the mosque was rebuilt by the Caliph Abd el-Melek, the work being begun in 686 A.D. Upon the sacred rock, directly under the dome, is shown the " Footprint of Mohammed," where the foot of that prophet left the earth on his journey to heaven; and near by the Handprint of Gabriel," where that angel seized the rock and held it down when it was rising with Mohammed.

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"According to the treaty of capitulation, in virtue of which the city [Jerusalem] was ceded to the Moslems ... it was agreed that a spot of ground should be ceded to Omar, in which he might establish a place of prayer. For this purpose the site of the old Temple of the Jews was assigned him, that spot being considered sacred by the Moslems on account of the nocturnal visit of the prophet, and because they then wished to conciliate the Jews, while at the same time the spot was held accursed by the Christians on account of the Lord's denunciation, and

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