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1757, this production was followed by a translation of the Letters of Pliny the younger (in 2 vols. 8vo.), which has been regarded as one of the happiest versions of a Latin author in the English language, -although somewhat enfeebled by a desire to obliterate every trace of a Latin style. He was, also, the translator of Cicero's treatises De Amicitia and De Senectute. These he enriched with remarks, literary and philosophical, in refutation of the opposing opinions of lord Shaftesbury and Soame Jenyns, the first of whom maintained that the non-existence of any precept in favor of friendship was a defect in the Christian system, while the second held that very circumstance to form a proof of its divine origin. His last work was memoirs of his father, under the title of Memoirs of a late eminent Advocate and Member of Lincoln's Inn. Mr. Melmoth died at Bath, in 1799, at the age of 89. MELO-DRAMA (from the Greek peλos, song, and deaμa); a short, half-musical drama, or that species of drama in which the declamation of certain passages is interrupted by music. It is called monodrama if but one person acts, duodrama if two act. It differs from the opera and operetta in this, that the persons do not sing, but declaim, and the music only fills the pauses, either preparing or continuing the feelings expressed by the actors. Generally, the subject is grave or passionate. The German melo-drama is of a lyrical character, with comparatively little action. Objections have been made to it on this ground, that it affords too little variety; that the music only renders it more monotonous, because it expresses only the feeling or passion already expressed in words; that the course of feeling is interrupted by the music; and that the actor is embarrassed during the music, being obliged to fill the pause in his recitation by pantomimic action. The first idea of a melo-drama was given by J. J. Rousseau, in his Pygmalion. The proper inventor of the German melo-dramas, however, was a German actor named Brandes, who wished to prepare å brilliant part for his wife, who excelled in the declamation of lyric poetry. Brandes arranged a cantate of Gerstenberg, after the fashion of Pygmalion. G. Benda (q. v.) composed the music for it. This kind of performance met with great applause, and Goller wrote his Medea; others followed. But the interest in these pieces was not of long continuance, because of the want of action. In modern times, some ballads (for instance, of Schiller) have been set to music, in a

melo-dramatic way. Parts of operas have been, likewise, composed in this way, as, for instance; the scene of incantation in Weber's Freischütz, and some scenes in the Preciosa, by the same. Schlegel, in his Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature, says, "Under melo-drama, the French do not understand, like the Ger mans, a play, in which monologues alternate with instrumental music in the pauses, but a drama in high-flown prose, representing some strange, romantic scene, with suitable decorations and machinery." Such was its character from 1790 to 1820, and this sort of exhibition became popular, also, in other countries. On the inclination for it something better might be built, for most melo-dramas are tasteless and extravagant. The new melo-dramas, which have proceeded from the boulevards in Paris, are rude dramas, in which music is interspersed, now and then, in order to heighten the effect.

MELODY; in the most general sense of the word, any successive connexion or series of tones; in a more narrow sense, a series of tones which please the ear by their succession and variety; and, in a still narrower sense, the particular air or tune of a musical piece. By melody, in its general, musical sense, the composer strives to express particular states of feeling or disposition, which, in pieces of several voices, is chiefly effected by the principal melody, or chief voice, to which the other voices, with their melodies, are subordinate. The elements by which the composer is enabled to express a beautiful variety of sentiments and feelings, by means of the melodious connexion of tones, are the variety of tones in themselves, and the variety of transitions from one tone to another, to which is still to be added the variety of the movements

In regard to the relative importance of it is in vain to talk of such things as harmelody and harmony, we may observe, that mony and melody as more or less important, since an impartial judgment acknowledges the necessity of both, though Rousseau, in the beginning of the contest between the melodists and Gothic barbarism, necessary only for dull northharmonists, declared harmony the invention of ern ears. One of the most scientific musicians of France says, "Melody is, for music, what thought is for poetry, or drawing for painting rhythm is, in music, what metre is in the art of versification, or perspective in drawing; in fine, harmony, by its cadences, the variety of its cocords, the fullness of its modulation, the nature of its rests at the end of phrases, and, above all, by the steadiness which it alone can give to intena tion, is the first and essential requisite of the enjoyments of the sense of hearing, is the logic of

the art of music."

in which music proceeds (rhythm). Melody and rhythm are the true means to awaken delight, and where they are wanting, the greatest purity of harmony remains without effect. The proper essence of melody consists in expression. It has always to express some internal emotion, and every one who hears it, and is able to understand the language,_must understand the feeling expressed. But as melody, in the hands of the composer, is a work of art and taste, it is necessary that, like every other work of art, it should form a whole, in which the various means are combined to produce one effect. This whole must be such that the hearer is kept constantly interested, and can give himself up, with pleasure, to the impressions which he receives. The particular qualities of a good melody are these:-It is indispensable that it should have one chief and fundamental tone, which receives proper gradations by a variation adapted to the expression. This can be effected only by letting the tones proceed according to a certain scale; otherwise there would be no connexion between them. The chief tone, again, must be appropriate to the general idea to be expressed, because every kind of tone has its own character, and the finer the ear of the composer is, the better will he always discover the tone wanted. In very short melodies, or tunes, consisting merely of a few chief passages, the same fundamental tone may remain throughout, or perhaps pass over into its dominante; but longer pieces require change of tone, that the harmony also may receive modifications according to the feeling. Thirdly, a good melody requires rhythm. (q. v.) A regular advance from one part to another, whether in music or motion (dancing), affects the mind agreeably, whilst irregular progress fatigues. The love of rhythm is one of the most general feelings of human nature. We find rhythm every where, and to music it is indispensable, as tones without regularity of measure would distract and weary. Hence music is divided into portions or bars; these, again, are divided so as to prevent monotony, without disturbing the general regularity. Accents are given to certain parts, and it is possible greatly to assist the expression of feeling, by slow or quick, gay or solemn movements, and by the variety of accents, and the even or uneven time. (q. v.) Much might be said respecting the skill of the composer to adapt his music, not only, in general, to the idea to be expressed, but also, in song, to the single words, to the 34

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pause, which the hearer wishes here, or the speedy movement, which he desires in other places; the necessity of the repetition of words, if the feeling is long and varied, while the word is short; the childish impropriety of representing, as it were by imitative sounds, the ideas presented by particular words, which is much the same as if a declaimer, every time that he pronounces the word ocean, were to endeavor to represent the roaring of the waves; the parts where dissonances are admissible, &c.; but it would carry us much beyond our limits.

MELOE. These insects have the elytra, or wing covers, short, extending about half the length of the body; the antennæ, or feelers, are jointed, of which the middle divisions are the largest. They are slow and heavy in their motions, and have a large head. They feed on the leaves and flowers of different vegetables. They do not occur in as large numbers as some of the genera closely allied to them, viz., cantharis and lytta, but have, in common with these insects, the property of blistering the human skin. Linnæus included the well-known and valuable Spanish fly in this genus; but it was very properly separated from it by Fabricius, and placed in the genus cantharis, of which it forms the type. (See Cantharides.) These insects emit an oleaginous, yellowish, or reddish liquid, from some of the joints of their feet. In some parts of Spain, they are used in place of the cantharides, or mixed with them. Mr. Latreille is of opinion that these are the insects spoken of by ancient writers, under the name of buprestis, and which they considered as very injurious to cattle, and as often causing their death, when swallowed with their food. The M. proscarabæus, which is a native of Europe, exudes a large quantity of a fat, oily matter, which has been highly recommended as a stimulating application to poisoned wounds. There are many species of this genus found in the U. States, the largest of which is the M. purpureus. Mr. Say has described many of them in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Science, to which we refer for detailed accounts of them. As these insects possess the vesicating property to a considerable degree, they might, where they occur in sufficient quantities, form a very good substitute for the cantharides of the shops.

MELON. The musk-melon is the product of the cucumis melo, a rough, trailing, herbaceous plant, having rounded, angular leaves, and yellow, funnel-shaped flowers.

Though originally from the warmer parts of Asia, its annual root and rapid growth enable it to be cultivated in the short summers of northern climates; but the flavor of the fruit is much heightened by exposure to a hot sun. The form of the fruit is, in general, oval, but varies exceedingly in the different varieties, which are very numerous. In some, the external surface is smooth; in others, rugged or netted, or divided into segments by longitudinal grooves. The odor of the fruit is delightful. The flesh is usually yellow, and has a sugary and delicious taste. It has been cultivated in Europe from time immemorial. The water-melon is the product of the C. citrullus, a vine somewhat resembling the preceding, but having the leaves deeply divided into lobes. It is smooth, roundish, often a foot and a half in length, and has a thin, green rind. The seeds are black or red. The flesh is usually reddish, sometimes white, icy, and has a sugary taste; it melts in the mouth, and is extremely refreshing. It is cultivated, to a great extent, in all the warm countries of both continents, and even in high northern latitudes. It serves the Egyptians for meat and drink, and is the only medicine used by them in fevers. These two plants, together with the cucumber, gourd, &c., belong to the natural family cucurbitaceæ.

MELOS (now Milo); an island of the Ægean sea, about 60 square miles in extent, with about 500 inhabitants. The island has a wild, uncultivated appearance, sulphureous springs abound, and volcanic exhalations burst from the rocky and sterile soil. Oil, wine, cotton and fruits, such as oranges, melons (which derive their name from the island), figs, &c., are produced. Lon. 24° 22 E.; lat. 36° 40 N. The chief town, Milo (formerly Melos), is now occupied by only 40 families. In 1814, baron von Haller discovered, on the site of the ancient city, an amphitheatre of marble, with numerous fragments of statues and columns, which were bought by the present king of Bavaria. In the vicinity a Greek peasant has since found (1820) a statue of Venus, with three Hermes (q. v.) figures three feet high, which were bought by the marquis de la Rivière, French ambassador at Constantinople, and are now in the royal museum at Paris. The Venus is of the finest Parian marble (Grechetto), to which the color of ivory has been given; it is called by the Parisian amateurs, la Femme du Torse. Though much injured, the head is not separated from the body. As she held

the apple, she was a Venus victrix; and she appears to have been modelled after the naked Venus of Praxiteles.-See Clarac's and de Quincy's Descriptions (Paris, 1821); others have supposed it to be a statue of Electra. (See Venus.)

MELPOMENE; one of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over tragedy. Horace has addressed the finest of his odes to her, as to the patroness of lyric poetry. She was generally represented as a young woman with a serious countenance. Her garments were splendid; she wore a buskin, and held a dagger in one hand, and in the other a sceptre and crowns.

MELROSE; a town in Scotland, on the Tweed, 35 iniles south of Edinburgh; lon. 2° 47′ W.; lat. 55° 38′ N.; population, 3467. A short distance from the town, on the Tweed, is the abbey of Melrose, one of the largest and most magnificent in the kingdom. It is one of the most beautiful Gothic structures in Great Britain, the admiration of strangers, and much visited by travellers. It was built by king David, in 1136, in the form of St. John's cross; 258 feet long, and 137 broad. The tower is mostly broken down. It was a famous nursery of learning and religion.

MELUN (Melodunum); an ancient city of France, on the Seine, nine leagues from Paris; lat. 48° 32′ N.; lon. 2° 39′ E. It has some manufactures, and three annual fairs; population, 7250. The Seine here forms an island, and is crossed by two stone bridges, one of which has an arch of 159 feet 10 inches span, and 14 feet 10 inches high. Louis XIV and his court resided here some time, during the war of the Fronde. Abeillard established his school here in the twelfth century.

MELUSINA; a well known personage in the fairy world; according to some, a kind of female sea-demon, according to others, the daughter of a king of Albania, and a fairy. Paracelsus makes her a nymph. She is generally considered a powerful fairy, who married a prince of the house of Lusignan. She was, like most fairies of her time, obliged, on certain days of the month, to take the shape of a fish, at least in respect to half her body; she had, therefore, strictly enjoined the prince, her husband, with whom she lived most happily in the castle of Lusignan, to leave her alone on such days, and not to dare to look at her. The prince, however, like other mortals, was curious, entered her chamber on one of the forbidden days, and saw her in her state of metamorphosis. She immediately uttered a shriek,

and disappeared; but ever after, when an important death was about to take place in the family of Lusignan, and when they became related to the kings of France, also in the royal family, she appeared in a mourning dress, on a lofty tower of the castle, until, at last, this tower was demolished, in 1574, by order of the duke de Montpensier, which she strove in vain to prevent, by frequent apparitions. Various versions of this story exist.

MELVIL, Sir James, a statesman and historian, was born at Hall-hill, in Fifeshire, in 1530; and, at the age of 14, became page to Mary, queen of Scots, then wife to the dauphin of France. After having travelled and visited the court of the elector palatine, with whom he remained three years, on the accession of Mary to the throne of Scotland, Melvil followed her, and was made privy coun-. sellor and gentleman of the bed-chamber, and continued her confidential, servant until her imprisonment in Lochleven castle. He was sent to the court of Elizabeth, and maintained correspondences in England in favor of Mary's succession to the English crown. He died in 1606. He left a historical work in manuscript, which was published in 1683, under the title of Memoirs of Sir James Melvil, of Hall-hill, containing an impartial Account of the most remarkable Affairs of State during the last Age.

MELVILLE ISLAND, in the Polar sea; one of the north Georgian group, between 74° and 76° 50′ N. lat., and 105° 40′ and 113° 40 W. lon. It is surrounded with enormous masses of ice, and the only vegetation is moss. Captain Parry discovered it in 1819, and passed the winter of 181920 there. Its only inhabitant in winter is the white bear. (See Polar Seas.)--Melville is also the name given to an island of the Indian ocean, near the northern coast of New Holland; lat. 11° 20 S.; lon. 130° 40′ E. It was discovered by captain King, in 1818, and, in 1824, the English government formed a colony there, for the purpose of establishing commercial relations with the Malays. The settlement received the name of King's cove, and the harbor that of Port Cockburn.

MEMEL; the most northern town of Prussia, at the mouth of the Dange, on the Kurische Haff; lat. 55° 42′ N.; lon. 21°3′E.; population 8400, engaged in shipbuilding, manufactures and commerce. The harbor is good, safe, and strongly fortified. About 600 ships enter and leave it yearly. Its exports are corn, hemp, skins, with flax seed and wood from Lithuania.

MEMEL. (See Niemen.)

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MEMNON, according to fable, was the son of Tithonus and Aurora, and the brother of Emathon. According to some, he was king of Ethiopia, according to others, of the Assyrians. He built a splendid palace and a labyrinth at Abydos, in Egypt, and another palace at Susa, in Persia, which city received from him the epithet of Memnonia. Priam, king of Troy, induced him, by the present of a golden vine, to come to his assistance against the Greeks. He performed many valiant exploits, and wounded Achilles himself, by whom he was finally killed. Jupiter, being requested by Aurora to honor her son with some peculiar mark of distinction, caused an innumerable crowd of birds to arise from his ashes (Memnonides), which annually returned to his grave, and fought with each other, thus solemnizing, as it were, funeral games in honor of his memory. After his death, he was worshipped as a hero. At Thebes, on the left bank of the Nile, in the ruins of the Memnonium (palace of Memnon), are still to be seen the remains of colossal statues of Memnon. One of these uttered a joyful sound when the sun rose and shone upon it, but when the sun set, the sound was mournful. It is also related, that it shed tears, and gave out oracular responses in seven verses. This sound was heard till the fourth century after Christ. Descriptions of this sounding statue, and accounts of the sound heard, are to be found in the works of Pausanias and Strabo, and among modern authors, in those of Pococke and Norden. There have been many hypotheses concerning its nature, and also concerning the story of Memnon. Böttiger, in his Amalthea (vol. ii, page 174), shows that Memnon and Phamenophis were the same, and that the statue of Memnon represents a hero worshipping the sun, a king or priest saluting the god. Belzoni deposited in the British museum, in 1818, the head of such a statue of Memnon, which is called the younger Memnon.

MEMOIRS, HISTORICAL, are writings in which a person sketches the events experienced and witnessed by himself to furnish matter for his own reflection. They differ from a complete history or chronicle in the limited nature of their subject, treating only of particular events or persons; their authors, too, have either taken part, personally, in the scenes described, or have been connected with the actors so intimately as to have derived their information from the most trust-worthy sources. We are not to expect from them the same

precision of arrangement and style which is required in a regular historical work. They are, however, more valuable in proportion as this license is not abused, and the relation is easy without being negligent. They furnish the inquirer with interesting individual anecdotes, often expose the most secret motives, disclose the whole character of events, which are often barely mentioned, entirely omitted, or merely hinted at with a timid circumspection, in books of general history, develope details of secret plots and projects, of which the result only is noticed in history, and, under certain limitations, they are entitled to a high degree of credit. They are no less interesting on account of showing the individual character of the writer in his manner of relating events, even supposing his views to be partial, limited, and affected by party prejudices. These qualities give them an advantage over other kinds of historical writings, since they satisfy the mere reader for amusement, as well as the student; the one by the pleasing negligence of their manner, and the other by the value of their materials; although it must be acknowledged, that to the latter, the historical criticism of them is a difficult task. Xenophon's Anabasis, and Cæsar's accounts of his campaigns (Commentaries) are generally considered as the oldest memoirs. But France is the native soil of mémoires, in the historical literature of which country, they form a national peculiarity, and where, since the end of the fifteenth century, they have been continually becoming more numerous. The memoirs of Philip de Comines, Brantôme, Sully, Joinville and cardinal de Retz (see these articles, and French Literature) deserve particular notice. The memoirs of Martin du Bellay, which relate to the period from 1513 to 1516 (Paris, 1569, folio, edited in a modernized form, by Lambert, Paris, 1753, 7 vols.), are distinguished for vigorous delineation and the national feeling which they display. Blaise de Montluc, in his memoirs, 1521-69, called, by Henry IV, the soldier's bible (Paris, 1746, 4vols., 12mo.), is no less frank in revealing his own faults than in commending his own virtues; lively and striking description is blended with the verboseness of an old soldier. Michel de Castelnau is distinguished for the highest political honesty, for the soundness, maturity and clearness of his judgment, as much as for his dignified and tranquil manner (Memoirs, 1559-70, Brussels, 1731, 3 vols., folio). Margaret of Valois, the wife of Henry IV, relates

the history of her youth (1561-81) with much, although somewhat artificial elegance and feminine adroitness, but at the same time, evident good nature (Hague, 1715,2 vols.). Aubigné (1550 1600, Amsterdam, 1623,3 vols., folio), with all his partiality, his effrontery, his freedom bordering on calumny, and his far-fetched and often unintelligible expressions, is an author of great importance for the history of his times, but must be consulted with caution. Rochefoucault, a nobleman of the acutest wit, and a deep knowledge of human nature, who described the disturbances of the Fronde (1648–52) with the hand of a master, has, notwithstanding his obvious partiality, great clearness and sagacity in narrating and developing events, furnishes admirable portraits of the principal personages described, and is distinguished for animation and natural coloring. His style (which is often, with little propriety, compared to that of Tacitus) is plain, manly and sententious, and his language pure, measured and concise (Trevoux, 1754, 2 vols., 12mo.; Paris, 1804, 18mo.). Among the other numerous French memoirs, those of D'Etrées, De Brienne, De Torcy and Montyon are of especial interest for diplomatists. We may mention also those of St. Simon, Duclos and madame D'Epinay. To these may be added also the works of the Abbe Soulavie; the Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau; the Correspondence of Grimm and of La Harpe; the Diary of Bachaumont; the Considérations sur la Révolution of Madame de Staël; Garat's work on Suard and the 18th century; the Mémoires of Madame Laroche Jacquelin, &c. Within a few years there have been begun in Paris four great collections of memoirs, which are of high importance for libraries and collectors; the first is Collection complète des Mémoires relatifs à l'Histoire de France depuis le Règne de Philippe Auguste jusqu'au Commencement du dix septième Siècle; avec des Notes sur chaque Auteur et des Observations sur chaque Ouvrage, par Monsieur Pelitot. This collection consists of 42 volumes, and is completed. The second is a sequel and continuation of the preceding, under the title of Collection, etc. depuis l'Avènement de Henri IV, jusqu' à la Paix de Paris, conclue en 1763, and is also arranged and edited by Petitot. The 23d volume of this second series appeared in April, 1823. Foucault has published these two collections with the greatest typographical accuracy. The third is a collection of memoirs, published and unpub