direction of those who called themselves prophets. Montanus, in conjunction with Priscilla and Maximilla, was at the head of the sect. MONTARGIS, a considerable town of France, in the department of Loiret and late province of Orleanois. Its mustard and cutlery are excellent; and from the river Loing is a navigable canal hence to the Seine. It is seated near a fine forest, 15 miles S. of Nemours, and 62 S. by E. of Paris.

MONTAUBON, a commercial town of France, in the department of Lot, lately the episcopal see of the province of Querci. The inhabitants amount to 40,000; and have manufactures of silk stockings and stuffs, serges, shalloons, &c. This town was taken from the Huguenots in 1629, and the fortifications were demolished. It is seated on an eminence, on the river Tarn, 20 miles N. of Toulouse, and 30 S. of Cahors.

MONTBAZON, a town of France, in the department of Indre and Loire and late province of Touraine, seated at the foot of a hill, on which is an ancient castle, 135 miles S.W. of Paris. Lon. 0.45 E. Lat. 47. 1 N.

MONTBELLIARD, a strong town of France, capital of a principality of the German empire, of the same name, between the department of Doubs and that of Upper Rhine. It is seated at the foot of a rock, on which is a citadel. It was taken in 1674 by the French, who demolished the fortifications; but it was restored to the prince. It is seated near the Alaine and Doubs, 33 miles W. of Basle, and 45 N.E. of Besancon. Lon. 6. 50 E. Lat. 4. 31 N.

MONTBLANC, one of the highest mountains of the Alps, in Savoy, so called from its uncommonly white appearance. It is 15,662 feet above the level of the sea, which is 414 feet higher than the peak of Teneriff. The summit was deemed inaccessible till 1786, when Dr. Paccard ascended it. The French have given the name of this mountain to the conquered duchy of Savoy, as an eighty-fourth department of France.

MONTBLANC, a town of Spain, in Catalonia, 15 miles N. of Tarragona. Lon. 1.5 E. Lat. 41. 10 N.

MONTBRISON, a town of France, in the department of Rhone and Loire and late province of Forez, seated on the Vezize, 40 miles W. of Vienne, and 250 S.E. of Paris. Lon. 4. 27 E. Lat. 45. 32 N.

MONTECCHIO, a considerable town of Italy, in the duchy of Reggio, 10 miles S. E. of Parma, and 8 NW. of Reggio. Lon. 15. 54 E. Lat. 38. 8 N.

MONTE-FALCO, a town of Italy, in the territory of the church and duchy of Spalatto: seated on a mountain near the river Clitunno, 12 miles west of Spalatto. Lon. 12. 40 E. Lat. 42. 58 N.

MONTE-FALCONE, a town of Italy, in Venetian Friuli, with a castle, near the river Ponzano, 12 miles N.W. of Triest. Lon. 13. 0 E. Lat. 46. 4 N.

MONTE-FIASCONE, a populous town of

Italy, in the territory of the church, with a bishop's see. It is seated on a mountain, near the lake Bolsena, 12 miles S.W. of Orvietto, and 45 N.W. of Rome. Lon. 12. 4 E. Lat. 42. 26 N.

MONTE-LEONE, a town of Naples, in Calabria Ulteriore. It was ruined by an earthquake in 1638, and is 12 miles N.E. of Nicotera.

MONTE-MARANA, a populous town of Naples, in Principata Ulteriore, seated on the Calore, 18 miles S. of Benevento. Lon. 15 0 E. Lat. 40. 48 N.

MONTE-PELOSo, an episcopal'town of Naples, in Basilicata, seated on a mountain, near the river Basiento, 14 niles E. of Cirenza. Lon. 16. 28 E. Lat. 40. 46 N.

MONTE-PULCIANO, a town of Tuscany, with a bishop's see. It is seated on a mountain, near the river Chiana, in a country noted for excellent wine, 25 miles S.E. of Sienna, and 50 S. by E. of Florence. Lon. 11.49 E. Lat. 43. 10 N.

MONTE-SANCTO, formerly Mount-Athos, a mountain of Turkey in Europe, on the gulf of Contessa. It is called Monte-Sancto, or Holy Mount, because there are 22 monasteries thereon, in which are 4000 monks, who never suffer a woman to come near them. It is 17 miles S. of Salonichi. Lon. 24. 39 E. Lat. 40. 27 N.

MONTE-SANTO, a town of Portugal, in Beira, 6 miles N. of Idanha a Velha.

MONTEGO, a seaport, on a bay of the same name, on the N. side of the island of Jamaica. In June 1795 a fire consumed an immense quantity of stores, and great part of the town. Lon. 78. 5 W. Lat. 18. 40 N.

MONTELIMAR, a commercial town of France, in the department of Drome, with an ancient citadel. The inhabitants, in the 16th century, were the first to embrace the reformed religion. It is seated in a fertile plain, 25 miles S. of Valence, and 325 S. by E. of Paris. Lon. 4. 55 E. Lat. 44. 33 N.

MONTEMOR-O-NOVO, a town of Portugal, in Estremadura, 50 miles E. by S. of Lisbon. Lon. 15. 0 E. Lat. 38. 42 N.

MONTEMOR-O-VELHO, a town of Portugal, in Beira, with a castle, 10 miles S.W. of Coimbra, and 83 N. Lisbon. Lon. 8. 9 W. Lat. 40. 5 N.

MONTESA, a strong town of Spain, in Valencia, which is the seat of an order of knighthood of the same name. It is five miles N.W. of Xativa. Lon.0.30 W. Lat.39.0 N.

MONTESQUIEU (Charles de Secondat), baron, a most illustrious Frenchman descended from an ancient and noble family of Guienne, was born at the castle of La Brede, near Bourdeaux, in 1689. The greatest care was taken of his education; and at the age of 20 he had actually prepared materials for his Spirit of Laws, by well digested extracts from those immense volumes of civil law which he had studied, not barely as a civilian, but as a philosopher. He became a counsellor of the parliament of Bourdeaux in

1714, and was received president a mortier two years after. In 1721 he published his Persian Letters; in which, under the screen of Oriental manners, he satirized those of France, and treated of several important subjects by delicate and transient glances: he did not avow this publication; but was no sooner pointed out as the author, than zeal without know ledge, and envy under the mask of it, united at once against the Persian Letters. He was received into the French Academy in 1728; and having previously quitted his civil employments, he entirely devoted himself to his genius, and was no longer a magistrate, but a man of letters. Having thus set himself at liberty, he travelled through Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, and England, in which last country he resided three years, and contracted intimacies with the greatest men then alive; for Locke and Newton were dead. The result of his observations was, that Germany was fit to travel in, Italy to sojourn in, England to think in, and France to live in. On his return he retired for two years to his estate at La Brede, where he finished his work On the Causes of the Grandeur and Declension of the Romans; which appeared in 1734. The reputation acquired by this last work only cleared the way for his greater undertaking, the Spirit of Laws, which was printed at Geneva in 2 vols. 4to. 1750. This was immediately attacked by the adversaries of his Persian Letters, in a multitude of anonymous pamphlets, containing all the reproaches to which a liberal mind is exposed from craft and ignorance. M. Montesquieu drew up a de. fence of this work; which for truth, moderation, and delicacy of ridicule, may be regarded as a model in its way. This great man was peaceably enjoying that fulness of esteem which his great merits had procured him, when he fell sick at Paris, and died on the 10th of February 1755.-The following character of this great man is drawn by lord Chesterfield: His virtues did honour to human nature, his writings justice. A friend to mankind, he asserted their undoubted and unalienable rights with freedom, even in his own country; whose prejudices in matters of religion and government he had long lamented, and endeavoured, not without some success, to remove. He well knew, and justly admired, the happy constitution of this country, where fixed and known laws equally restrain monarchy from tyranny, and liberty from licentiousness. His works will illustrate his name, and survive him, as long as right reason, moral obligation, and the true spirit of laws, shall be understood, respected, and maintained." As to his personal qualities, we are told by his eulogist, M. d'Alembert, that "he was of a sweet, gay, and even temper. His conversation was spirited, agreeable, and in structive. Nobody told a story in a more lively manner, or with more grace and less affectation. He had frequent absence of mind; but always awakened from it by some unexpected stroke that re-animated the languishing

conversation. Though he lived with the great, he retired whenever he could to his estate in the country, and there met his books, his philosophy, and his repose. Surrounded at his leisure hours with peasants, after having studied man in the cominerce of the world, he studied him in those simple people, solely instructed by nature. With them he cheerfully conversed; he endeavoured, like Socrates, to find out their genius, and appeared as happy with them as in the most brilliant assemblies; especially when he reconciled their differences, and by his beneficence relieved them from their distresses."

The following interesting story we present on the authority of Mr. Muirhead of Glasgow, in his Travels in the Low Countries:

66

• A young man, named Robert, sat alone in his boat, in the harbour of Marseilles. A stranger had stept in and taken his seat near him, but quickly rose again; observing, that, since the master had disappeared he would take another boat. This, Sir, is mine,”— said Robert,-" would you sail without the harbour?" "I meant only to move about in the bason, and enjoy the coolness of this fine evening. But I cannot believe you are a sailor." "Nor am 1-yet on Sundays and holidays I act the bargeman, with a view to make up a sum."—"What! covetous at your age!-your looks had almost prepossessed me in your favour."-" Alas! Sir, did you know my situation you would not blame me."Well-perhaps-I am mistaken-let us take our little cruize of pleasure, and acquaint me with your history.”

The stranger having resumed his seat, the dialogue, after a short pause, proceeded thus : "I perceive, young man, you are sadwhat grieves you thus?" My father, Sir, groans in fetters, and I cannot ransom him. He earned a livelihood by petty brokerage, but, in an evil hour, embarked for Smyrna, to superintend in person the delivery of a cargo, in which he had a concern. The vessel was captured by a Barbary corsair, and my father was conducted to Tetuan, where he is now a slave. They refuse to let him go for less than 2000 crowns, a sum which far exceeds our scanty means. However we do our best-my mother and sisters work day and night-1 ply hard at my stated occupation of a journeyman jeweller, and, as you perceive, make the most I can of Sundays and holidays. I had resolved to put myself in my father's stead; but my mother, apprized of my design, and dreading the double privation of a husband and only son, requested the Levant captains to refuse me a passage."

66

Pray, do you ever hear from your father?under what name does he pass?—or what is his master's address?"-"His master is overseer of the royal gardens at Fez-and my father's name is Robert at Tetuan, as at Marseilles."—" Robert-overseer of the royal gardeus ?"-"Yes, Sir."-" I am touched with your misfortunes-but venture to predict their termination."

Night drew on apace. The unknown, upon

landing, thrust into young Robert's hand a purse containing eight double louis d'ors, with ten crowns in silver-and instantly disappeared. 'Six weeks had passed since this adventure, and each returning sun bore witness to the unremitting exertions of the good family. As they sat one day at their unsavoury meal of bread and dried almonds, old Robert entered the apartment, in a garb little suited to a fugitive prisoner, tenderly embraced his wife and children, and thanked them with tears of gratitude for the fifty louis they had caused remit to him on his sailing from Tetuan, his free passage, and a comfortable supply of wearing apparel. His astonished relatives eyed one another in silence. At length, madame Robert suspecting her son had secretly concerted the whole plan, recounted the various instances of his zeal. "Six thousand livres," continued she," is the sum we wanted-and we had already procured somewhat more than the half, owing chiefly to his industry. Some friends, no doubt, have assisted him upon an emergency like the present." A gloomy suggestion crossed the father's mind. Turning suddenly to his son, and eyeing him with the sternness of distraction, "Unfortunate boy," exclaimed he, "what have you done? How can I be indebted to you for my freedom, and not regret it? How could you effect my ransom, without your mother's knowledge, unless at the expence of virtue? I tremble at the thought of filial affection having betrayed you into guilt. Tell the truth at once-and let us all die if you have forfeited your integrity." "Calm your apprehensions, my dearest father," cried the son, embracing him,-" no, I am not unworthy of such a parent, though fortune has denied me the satisfaction of proving the full strength of my attachment-I am not your deliverer-but I know who is.-Recollect, mother, the unknown gentleman who gave me the purse. He was particular in his enquiries. Should I pass my life in the pursuit, I must endeavour to meet with him, and invite him to contemplate the fruits of his beneficence." He then related to his father all that passed in the pleasure-boat, and removed every distressing suspicion.

Restored to the bosom of his family, Robert again partook of their joys, prospered in his dealings, and saw his children comfortably established. At last, on a Sunday morning, as his son sauntered on the quay, he recognized his benefactor, clasped his knees, and entreated him as his guardian angel, as the saviour of a father and a family, to share the happiness of his own creation. The stranger again disappeared in the crowd-but, reader, this stranger was Montesquieu.'

Besides the works above-mentioned M.Montesquieu wrote several small pieces, as the Temple of Gnidus, Lysimachus, and Essay upon Taste, which is left unfinished. His works have been collected since his death, and printed at Paris in a splendid edition, in quarto. They have likewise all of them been translated into English.

MONTESQUIEU, a town of France, in the department of Upper Garonne, 15 miles S.S.E. of Toulouse.

MONTESQUIOU, a town of France, in the department of Gers, 11 miles W.S.W, of Auch.

MONTETH. s. (from the name of the inventor.) A vessel in which glasses are washed.

MONTE VELINO, a mountain of Italy. supposed to be the most lofty part of the Ap pennines, and 8397 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. It is 46 miles N.E. of Rome,

MONTE-VERDE, a town of Naples, in Principato Ulteriore, with a bishop's see, 60 miles E. of Naples. Lon. 15. 42 E. Lat. 40. 51 N.

MONTEZUMA, the last emperor of Mexico, was a prince of noble qualities. He opposed the invaders of his country with firm. ness; but at last was seized by Cortes, who forced him to acknowledge himself a vassal of Spain. An insurrection taking place among the Mexicans, Cortes brought forth Montezuma dressed in his royal robes with a view to appease them. The unhappy mo narch received two mortal wounds from arrows, of which he shortly after died. He left two sons who embraced the Christian religion, and Charles V. made the eldest Count de Montezuma, and gave him a considerable estate.

MONTFAUCON (Bernard de), a very learned Benedictine of the congregation of St. Maur, singularly famous for his knowledge in pagan and ecclesiastical antiquities, was born of an ancient and noble family in Languedoc, in 1655. He served for some time in the army; but the death of his parents mortified him so with regard to the world, that he commenced Benedictine monk in 1675, and applied himself intensely to study. Though Montfaucon's life was long, healthy, retired, and laborious, his voluminous publications seem sufficiently to have employed the whole; exclusive of his greatest undertaking, for which he will be always memorable. This was his Antiquité expliquée, written in Latin and French, illustrated with elegant plates, in 10 vols. folio; to which he added a sup plement of 5 vols. more. He died at the abbey of St. Germain in 1741.

MONT-FERRAND. See CLERMONT. MONTFERRAT, a duchy of Italy, bounded on the E. by the Milanese and the territory of Genoa, on the N. and W. by Piedmont, and on the S. by the territory of Genoa, from which it is separated by the Apennines. It is very fertile and well cultivated, abounding in corn, wine, oil, and silk; and is subject to the king of Sardinia. Casal is the capital.

MONTFORT, a town of France, in the department of Seine and Oise, 16 miles W. of Versailles. Lon. 2. 50 E. Lat. 48. 45 N.

MONTFORT, a town of France, in the department of Isle and Vilaine, 12 miles W. of Rennes. Lon. 1. 58 W. Lat. 48. 8 N.

MONTFORT, a strong town of the United

Provinces, in Utrecht, with an ancient castle, seated on the Yssel, seven miles S. by E. of Utrecht. Lon. 5. 0 E. Lat. 52. 4 N.'

MONTFORT, a town of Suabia, capital of a country of the same name, subject to the house of Austria. It is 16 miles S. of Lindau and the lake of Constance. Lon. 9.51 E. Lat. 47. 22 N.

MONTFORT-DE-LEMOS, an ancient town of Spain, in Galicia, with a magnificent castle, seated in a fertile country, 25 miles N.E. of Orense, and 55 S.E. of Compostella. Lon. 7.9 W. Lat. 42. 28 N.

MONTGOLFIER (Stephen James), in biography, famous as the inventor of aerostatic balloons, was born at Annonay, thirty-six miles from Lyons, and there carried on an extensive manufacture of paper, in conjunction with his brother Joseph. They were distinguished for their ingenuity in this branch, and were the first in France who made the beautiful vellum paper. It is said, that the incident of covering a coffee-pot, in which water was boiling, with a spherical cap of paper, which rose in the air as the water heated, first gave him the idea of an air-balloon. Others affirm, that reflecting on the ascent of smoke and clouds in the atmosphere suggested the hint. However this were, it appears that Stephen, in the middle of November, 1782, made an experiment at Avignon with a bag of fine silk, of the shape of a parallelopipedon, and of forty cubic feet in capacity, to the aperture of which he applied burning paper till it was filled with a kind of cloud, when it ascended rapidly to the ceiling. This experiment was repeated by the two brothers at Annonay, with a success that induced them to form a machine of the capacity of six hundred and fifty cubic feet, which filled in like manner with smoke, ascended to the height of six hundred feet. They proceeded enlarging the experiment, till they had constructed a globe of linen, lined with paper, of the capacity of twenty-three thousand four hundred and thirty cubic feet, which, inflated with the smoke of straw and chopped wool, rose to an elevation of about six thouand feet. This power of ascent M. Montgolfier attributed not merely to the rarefaction of the air from the heat (which appears to be the true cause), but to a species of gas specifically lighter than the common air, supposed to be disengaged from the burning substances. When the event of these experiments was reported at Paris, the philosophers of that capital immediately thought of applying, for the purpose of inflation, a gas which they knew to be eight or ten times lighter than common air, namely inflammable air, and trials were immediately made upon that principle, which have proved highly successfal. In the mean time Montgolfier contiDued to extend his plans, and on September 19, 1783, he exhibited before the king and royal family at Versailles a grand machine, near sixty feet high, and forty-three in diameter, which ascended with a cage, contain

ing a sheep, a cock, and a duck, and conveyed them through the air in safety to the distance of above ten thousand feet. Emboldened by this success, M. Pilatre de Ro zier first offered himself to undertake the ha zardous adventure of an aerial navigation in a new machine of Montgolfier's, of still larger dimensions. After first ascending alone to the height of eighty-four feet, he again seated himself in the car with the marquis d'Ar landes, when they gave all Paris the astonish ing spectacle of hovering in the air over that city for about nine minutes at the height of three hundred and thirty feet. This brilliant experiment caused the annual prize of the Academy of Sciences to be awarded to M. Montgolfier, and from that era, October 19, 1783, the atmosphere has been a new field of human daring. The first principle of ascent, however, though applied in various succeeding instances, gradually gave way to the safer and more efficacious one of a gaseous fluid perma nently lighter than the air. In one unfortu❤ nate instance the two modes were combined, and the result was, that the balloon caught fire, and occasioned the death of the first adventurer, Pilatre de Rozier, and his companion Romain. Montgolfier was rewarded for his discovery by admission into the Academy of Sciences, the cordon of St. Michael, and a pension of two thousand livres. He died in 1799.

MONTGOMERY, the capital of a county of the same name in North Wales, 158 miles from London, took its name from Roger de Montgomery earl of Shrewsbury, who built the castle; but it is called by the Welsh Tre Valdwin, that is, Baldwin's town; having been built by Baldwin, lieutenant of the marches of Wales, in the reign of William I. The Welsh, after having put the garrison to the sword, demolished it in 1095; but Henry III. rebuilt it, and granted it the privileges of a free borough, with other liberties. It is a large and tolerably well built town, in a healthful situation and fertile soil. It sends a member to parliament, and has the title of an earldom. It had formerly a tower and castle; but they were demolished in the civil wars. It has a weekly market and four fairs. Lon. 3. 5 W. Lat. 52 26 N.

MONTGOMERYSHIRE, a county of North Wales, 36 miles long, and nearly the same broad; bounded on the N. by Merionethshire and Denbighshire, on the N.E. and E. by Shropshire, on the S. by Radnorshire, on the S.W. by Cardiganshire, and on the W by Merionethshire. It contains five markettowns, and 47 parishes, nearly 50,000 inhabitants, and sends two members to parliament. Though barren and mountainous in many parts, it has a greater mixture of fertile vale and plain than several of the Welsh counties. Its riches proceed from its sheep and wool, the hilly tracts being almost entirely sheepwalks; and the flocks, like those of Spain, are driven from distant parts to feed on them during the summer. This county also afforde

mineral treasures, particularly lead; and it abounds with slate and lime; but there is no coal. Its principal rivers are the Severn, Vyrnew, and Tannat, which are remarkable

for salmon.

MONTH, in chronology, one of the twelve parts into which a year is divided. In its proper acceptation, it is that space of time which the moon takes up in passing from any certain point to the same again, which is called a periodical month; or it is the space of time between two conjunctions of the moon with the sun, which is called a synodical mouth. That space of time which the sun takes up in passing through one sign, or twelfth part of the zodiac, is also called (but improperly) a month. So that there are two sorts of months; lunar, which are measured by the moon; and solar, which are measured by the sun. The lunar periodical month consists of 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 5 seconds: the lunar synodical month is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3 seconds, and 11 thirds. A solar month contains, upon a mean calculation, 30 days, 10 hours, 29 minutes, 5 seconds.

The Jews, Greeks, and Romans, made use of lunar synodical months; but, to avoid fractions, they consisted alternately of 29 or 30 days. The former the Romans called cavi, and the Greeks χοιλοι; the latter were termed pleni and πλήρεις. 1. The Hebrew months were ranged differently in their sacred and in their civil year.

These months, being lunar, cannot exactly answer to our solar months; but every Jewish month must be conceived to answer to two of ours, and partake of both. As these twelve lunar months consisted only of 554 days, the Jews, in order to bring it nearer to the true year, took care every three years to intercalate a thirteenth month into the number, which they called veadar, or the second adar. The new moon was always the beginning of the month; and it is said the Jews had people posted on elevated places, to give notice to the Sanhedrim as soon as she made her appearance. After this, proclamation was made by sound of trumpet, and "the feast of the new moon, the

feast of the new moon," resounded amongst the people.

The ancient Hebrew months were of thirty days each, excepting the last, which consisted of thirtyfive; so that the year contained 365 days, with an intercalary month at the end of 120 years, which, conclusion of each year, brought it back nearly to by absorbing the odd hours which remained at the its proper place. This regulation of the year was borrowed from the Egyptians.

2. The months of the Athenian year, as we have before observed, consisted alternately of twentynine or thirty days. The first month, according to Meton's reformation of the calendar, began with the first new moon after the summer solstice and was called hecatombæon, answering to the latter half of June, and the former half of July. The order of the months, with the number of days in each, are as follows:

Each month was divided into three decades of days, called Sexnuga. The first was called Mys αρχόμενο οι ισαμένω, or the decade of the beginning of the month; the second was Myvos μles, or the decade of the middle; and the third was Mroc φθινοντος, παυομένε οι λεγοντος, the decade of the expiring month.

or

The first day of the first decade was termed Neovia, because the first month began with the new moon; the second day was diliga 15 aμm; the third games, &c. The first day of the second decade was wpwin solos, the second delega polos, &c. The days of this decade were also called πρώτη επι δικα, δεύτερα επι δεκα, &c. The first day of the third decade was pain xadi; the second was tulega en' sinadi, &c. i. e. the first, second, &c. after twenty, because the last decade began on the twentieth day. This decade was also counted by inversion thus; provlos dixan the twenty-first; pivovlos evval the twenty-second; povovos oydon the twenty-third; and so of the rest to the last day of the month, which was called am x vie, the old and the new, because one part of that day belonged to the old and the other to the new moon; but after the time of Demetrius, the last day of the month was called from him an Ίριας ; it sometimes was named τριακας.

The Grecian months, thus consisting of twentynine and thirty days alternately, fell short of the solar year 11 days 6 hours. To remedy this defect the cycle of four years, called vilpailupis, was invented. In this cycle, after the first two years, they added an intercalated month, called ques consisting of twenty-two days; and again, after the expiration of two years more, they inserted another month of twenty-three days, the fourth part of a day having in the space of four years amounted to a whole year. See YEAR.

3. The Roman year under Romulus consisted of ten months only, and began with March, which contained thirty-one days; then followed, April,