MIRDITES 



3447 



MIRROR IRON 



I 1 at Nicopolw, 1306. A 

 -upportor of Musa in his struggle 

 fur tin- Tml.Mi crown after tlic 



r;i|itlirr i-f r..i\:r/.id I by TillHir III 



nv.-iineil Ills power in 



\V:ill;i liia. luit thereafter con- 

 tinned in pay tribute to Turkey. 



Mirdites. Tribe of N. Albania. 

 They number about 25,000 and 

 inli.il.it the mountainous region to 

 tin- S. K <>f Scutari, with their 

 chief 1 1 litre at Oroshi. Their terri- 

 ! called Mirdita. Of the 

 t rilies of N. Albania they 

 are politically and numerically 

 the chief. Backward in culture 

 ami in religion Roman Catholic, 

 they have always opposed Turkish 

 and other attempts to absorb them. 

 They have hereditary chiefs known 

 as capidans, descended from the 

 house of John Marco. In 1868, when 

 Prenk, son and successor of Bib 

 Doda, the late reigning chief, was 

 captured by the Turks and held as 

 a hostage, the Mirdites refused to 

 supply men to the Turkish army. 

 The Turks after some time released 

 Prenk, who as the result of his 

 double-dealing with them involved 

 his tribesmen in conflict with 

 Turkey. The latter dispatched 

 two punitive expeditions which 

 ravaged their territory. 



Prenk was captured by the Turks 

 in 1880 and banished. In his stead 

 another chief belonging to the 

 ruling family was chosen, but his 

 unpopular rule brought about 

 anarchy. Prenk ultimately re- 

 turned, but was assassinated in 

 lit 19. See Albania. 



Mirfield. Urban dist. of York 

 shire (W.R.). It stands on the 

 ('alder. 5 ra. from Huddersfield, 

 with stations on the L. 

 & Y. and L. & N.W. 

 Rlys. The chief build- 

 ing is S.Mary's Church, 

 a modern edifice em- 

 bodying the tower of 

 an older one. An in- 

 dustrial centre, Mir- 

 tield has manufactures of woollen 

 and cotton goods, while occupa- 

 tion is also found in the surrounding 

 coal mines. Water is supplied by 

 t he II uddersfield corporation. Mar- 

 ket day, Sat. Pop. 11,700. 



Mirfield Community. Angli- 

 can religious order for priests, 

 known as the Community of the 

 Resurrection. Founded in 1892 at 

 the Pusey House, by Dr. Gore, 

 afterwards bishop of Oxford, the 

 community removed to Radlcy 

 in 1SD3, and in 1898 to Mirfield in 

 Yorkshire. Its members are 

 occupied in mission preaching, 

 holding retreats, training candi- 

 dates for Holy Orders, and literary 

 work. Buildings have been erected 

 for the purposes of a theological 

 college, where a large number of 



men are trained for the ministry, 

 the course occupying five or BIX 

 yean and including a degree in 

 arts at Leeds University, where 

 the society maintains a ho-t.-l. 

 The charge is low, and repayment 

 may bo spread over six years after 

 ordination. Half the cost of 

 training is borne by the society. 

 In 1903 a branch house was 

 opened at .Johannesburg. A branch 

 priory has been established in 

 London since 1914. ;. . , 



, Miriti Palm ( Mauritia flexuosa). 

 Large tree of the natural order 

 I '.i I nine, native of 8. America. 

 The enormous leaves are fan- 

 shaped, forming a huge crown to 

 the lofty trunk. The fruits have a 

 tesselated appearance due to a 

 covering of hard, shining scales. 

 From the young fruits a beverage 

 is prepared, and the sap, fer- 

 mented, becomes palmwine. A 

 sago-like food is yielded by the 

 soft inner part of the stem . and 

 the young leaves torn into strips 

 are twisted into string and cordage. 

 Mirror. An object with a 

 smooth or polished reflecting sur- 

 face for the purpose of producing 



Mirror. Illustrations showing simi- 

 larity of form in ancient and modern 

 band mirrors. 1. Ancient Greek, 

 engraved with representation of 

 Perseus bearing the bead of Medusa. 

 2. Egyptian bronze mirror. 3. 

 Modern tortoisesbell mirror 



1 < 2. Brititl, Mutrum; 3. conrl ol 

 UoldtmUki Jb Kitirrtinilhf Company 



Miriti Palm Tree. Inset, left, flower 

 spray ; rigbt, frond of leal 



images of other objects, or for 

 reflecting light and heat. Mirrors 

 of polished bronze were used by the 

 Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. 

 Praxiteles (328 B.C.) suggested 

 polished silver plates as the best 

 reflecting surface. Silver, steel, and 

 aluminium have been employed 

 for this purpose. Glass was first 

 used in Venice about 1300, first 

 as a protective sheet to burnished 

 silver plates, and then backed with 

 mercury. A sheet of tinfoil was 

 placed on the glass, and over this 

 a coating of quicksilver, which 

 formed an adhesive amalgam, 

 protected by a coat of paint and 

 varnish. 



The modern method, introduced 

 by Liebig in 1830, is to 

 ^(MMfe^ precipitate an ammonia- 

 3$w ^^ ca ^ somt ' (m f silver salt, 



A to which tartaric acid 

 and sugar candy are 

 ^f added, on glass, and 

 tinish off with a coat of 

 ^09I|^P^^ paint and varnish. 

 f^ ^^ Mirrors were first manu- 



T^m* f factured in England in 

 HiT.'J, and were small. 

 About the time of Queen 

 Anne they were made of 

 heavy plate glass with 

 bevelled edges. The sur- 

 V face of mirrors may be 



" plane, convex, concave (as 

 in pyrometers), or parabolic. Set 

 Celt; Japan; Optics; Telescope. 



Mirror Iron. Alloy of iron, 

 manganese, and carbon. It is used 

 in the manufacture of steel, being 

 added at the end of the conver- 

 sion process to remove any oxygen 

 which the metal may have taken 

 up, and to provide the exact 

 amount of carbon required iu the 

 finished product. It is prepared in 



