Giambattista Moroni, 

 Italian painter 



Morpeth aims 



Moroni, GIAMBATTISTA (c. 1520- 

 78). Italian painter. Born at 

 Bondo, near Bergamo, he studied, 

 under II Mo- 

 retto at Bres- 

 cia and was 

 influenced by 

 LorenzoLotto. 

 He died at 

 B e r g a m o 

 Feb. 5, 1578. 

 His paintings 

 of r e 1 i g ious 

 subjects are of 

 small impor- 

 tance, but his portraits attained a 

 very high level and had some 

 influence on Van Dyck. The most 

 notable are the Portrait of a 

 Tailor, and the Portrait of a 

 Lawyer, both in the National Gal- 

 lery, London, which possesses five 

 other examples of his work. 



Morpeth. Mun. bor. and 

 market town of Northumberland. 

 It stands on the Wansbeck, 17 m. 

 from Newcastle, 

 and has a station 

 on the N.E. Rly. 

 The church of S. 

 Mary dates from 

 the 14th century, 

 and the grammar 

 school from the 

 16th. Of the 

 castle only the 

 gateway survives. There is a town 

 hall, a gaol, and, in the main 

 street, a clock tower. At New- 

 minster, near the town, an abbey 

 was established in the 12th century, 

 and there are remains of other old 

 buildings in the neighbourhood. 

 The industries include brewing, 

 malting, and tanning, and the 

 making of bricks and tiles, while 

 in the neighbourhood are exten- 

 sive collieries. It is a rly. junction. 

 An important cattle fair is held. 

 The town grew up around the 

 castle, held at one time by the 

 Dacres. It was incorporated in 

 1662, and is now governed by a 

 mayor and council. Until 1918 

 Morpeth was separately represent- 

 ed in Parliament, the parliamentary 

 borough including Blyth. Market 

 day, Wed. Pop. 7,800. 



Morpheus (Gr. morphe, form, 

 shape). In Greek mythology, the 

 son of sleep and god of dreams. 



Morphia OR MORPHINE. Alkaloid 

 contained in opium, of which it is 

 the active principle. It is used in 

 medicine, and ia also given to 

 relieve pain or to induce sleep, 

 being either swallowed or injected 

 under the skin. The habit of taking 

 morphia to relieve insomnia is a 

 dangerous one, and excessive doses 

 produce poisoning and death. 

 Emetic?, movement, and artificial 

 respiration are serviceable anti- 

 dotes to morphia poisoning. Mor- 



phia was first isolated in 1816 by 

 the German chemist Sertiirner, and 

 forms crystallised salts soluble in 

 water. Under the Dangerous Drugs 

 Act, 1920, its import and export 

 were prohibited except under li- 

 cense of the home office. See Opium. 



Morphology (Gr. morphe, form). 

 Science of the form and structure 

 of plants and animals. See Botany, 

 Embryology ; Histology. 



Morphy, PAUL CHARLES (1837- 

 84). American chess player.. Born 

 in New Orleans, June 22, 1837, his 

 father, Alonzo 

 Morphy, was a 

 lawyer of 

 Spanish extrac- 

 tion. He was 

 educated at a 

 Jesuit college 

 in Alabama 

 and became a 

 lawyer, but 

 before this he 

 had made a 

 reputation as a 

 chess player. His father was a keen 

 player, and the son showed remark- 

 able skill at the game, defeating the 



P. C. Morphy, 



American chess 



player 



Morpeth, Northumberland. Market place, looking to- 

 wards the old clock tower 



leading players in New Orleans be- 

 fore he was twelve years old. In 

 1857 he won the first prize at the 

 American chess congress, and for 

 the next two or three years he was 

 in Europe. In 1864 he returned to 

 the U.S.A. and his wonderful brain 



fave way. He died in New Orleans 

 uly 10, 1884. By some Morphy 

 is regarded as the greatest chess 

 player of all time, and Morphy's 

 Games of Chess, ed. J. Lowenthal, 

 1860, is still the classic of the 

 gam'e. See Exploits and Triumphs 

 of P. Morphy, F. M. Edge, 1859. 



Morris, EDWARD PATRICK 

 MORRIS, IST BARON (b. 1859). 

 British politician. Born at St. 

 John's, Newfoundland, May 8, 

 1859, he was educated at S. 

 Bonaventure's college there and at 

 Ottawa University. He was ( 

 admitted as a lawyer and began to 1 

 practise at St. John's, but gave 

 much time to politics, and in 1885 

 was chosen M.P. for St. John's in 



the Newfoundland legislature. In 

 1889 ho entered the Liberal 

 cabinet, and from 1890-95 was 

 attorney-general In 1897, as a 

 result of the controversy over the 

 railway contract given to Sir 

 R. G. Reid, Morris left his party 

 and became the leader of the inde- 

 pendent liberals. In 1900 he entered 

 Bond's cabinet, being minister of 

 justice, 1903-7. In 1908 he became 

 leader of the people's party, and 

 from 1909-18 was premier of New- 

 foundland. In 1918 he was made a 

 baron. He wrote for this Encyclo- 

 pedia the article on Newfoundland. 

 &ee PortraitGallery of Contributors. 

 Morris, SIR DANIEL (b. 1844). 

 British botanist. Born at Loughor, 

 Glamorganshire, May 26, 1844, he 

 was educated at Cheltenham, the 

 royal college of science, S. Kensing- 

 ton, and Trinity College, Dublin. In 

 1877 he became assistant director 

 of the Botanic Gardens in Ceylon, 

 where he investigated the nature of 

 the coffee-leaf disease. In 1879 he 

 was made director of the botanic de- 

 partment of Jamaica, and in 1886 

 became assistant director of the gar- 

 dens at Kew. He 

 : retired in 1898 and 

 was knighted in 

 1903. 

 Morris, Gou- 



VERNEUR (1752- 



1816). American 

 statesman. Born 

 at Morrisania, his 

 father's estate in 

 New York, Jan. 

 31, 1752, he was 

 descended from 

 one of Cromwell's 

 soldiers who 

 had emigrated 

 to America in 

 1660. His father, 

 Lewis Morris (1698-1762), was a 

 New York judge, his mother was 

 of a Huguenot family, hence his 

 Christian name. He was educated 

 in New York, 

 and became a 

 lawyer. 



Entering 

 public life just 

 when the 

 trouble be- 

 tween Britain 

 and her 

 American 

 colonies be- Gouverneur Morris, 

 gan, Morris American statesman 

 was a member of the congress 

 of his own state, and of that 

 called by the seceding states as a 

 whole. Until 1783 he was continu- 

 ally employed in the cause of the 

 Americans. He was chairman of 

 the committee that discussed the 

 possibilities of reconciliation with 

 the British representatives in 1778. 

 A prominent member of the con- 



