MEINICKE, KARL E. 



MERRY, FRANCISCO. 



521 



a fac-simile reproduction of a letter written at 

 one end of the wiro is obtained at the other 

 OIK), and that in much less time than it takes 

 to transmit a message by the Morse system. 

 A company called the United States Postal 

 Ti-lrirraph Company has been organized in New 

 York, tor tin- purpose of putting into practice 

 this important invention. The operation is 

 very simple. The sender writes his dispatch 

 upon ordinary white paper, which, when it is 

 pressed ngainst a metallic plate between two 

 rolln-s, transfers a copy to the plate. The 

 lines of writing are composed of a non-con- 

 ducting substance, while the plate is an elec- 

 trical conductor. An instrument carries metal- 

 lic points on revolving arms across the plate, 

 and whenever the point passes over a line of 

 writing the electrical connection is broken, and 

 the instrument at the other end makes a dot 

 upon a chemically-prepared piece of paper. At 

 the same time that the points move across the 

 surface the plate is moving horizontally with a 

 slow motion, so that the entire surface is gone 

 over. The receiving-instrument is run in an op- 

 posite direction to that of the transmitting one, 

 so that the copy will not be in reverse. The 

 same instruments are used for both sending 

 and receiving dispatches. The time that it 

 takes depends not on the amount of the writ- 

 ing, but upon the size of the copy; in ordinary 

 handwriting about a hundred words a minute 

 can be transmitted. The impression taken by 

 the receiving-instrument is ready for imme- 

 diate delivery. The message appears traced in 

 dark-blue dotted lines upon white paper. The 

 same system is used in the Signal Service to 

 transmit the weather-maps by telegraphy. The 

 ink which is used on a manuscript to be copied 

 telegraphically is mixed with a little glycerine ; 

 ordinary paper is employed. Before the ink is 

 dry some powdered shellac, which is the best 

 non-condnctor of electricity, is sprinkled upon 

 it. The plate which receives the writing is a 

 piece of hot zinc, an excellent electrical con- 

 ductor. The plate of zinc is bent about a 

 cylinder, in the latest instruments, which re- 

 volves, while the metallic point that con- 

 veys the electrical current is held to its surface 

 by a spring. The paper which receives the 

 message is wound about a similar cylinder, and 

 contains a chemical substance, which decom- 

 poses and changes color the moment the point 

 pressed against the zinc cylinder comes to a 

 line of writing. It is necessary that both 

 cylinders should make their revolutions in ex- 

 actly the same time ; and this is accomplished 

 by means of a magnet at the receiving-station, 

 connected with the cylinder at the other end 

 by electricity, which hastens or slackens the 

 motion of its cylinder at every movement of 

 the other. 



MEINICKE, KARL EDTTARD, an eminent Ger- 

 man geographer, born August 31, 1808; died 

 August 25, 1876. He received an appointment 

 on the gymnasium of Prenzlau in 1825, and in 

 1852 became director of it. His principal 



works are : " Dan Festland Australien " (2 

 vols., 1837), "Die Sudseevfilker und da< hri- 

 stenthum ' (1844), " Versuch einer Cit-M-hichte 

 der europfiischen Colonien in WeHtindien " 

 (1831), " Beitrfige zur Ethnographic Asiens" 

 (1887), "Lehrbuch der Geographic" (? 

 edition, 1845), a " Leitfaden der Geographic " 

 (third edition, 1860) for the lower classes of 

 the gymnasium, and "Die Inseln des Stillen 

 Oceans" (Part I., "Melanesien und Neusee- 

 land," 1875 ; Part II., " Polynesien und Mikro- 

 nesien," 1876). He was also the author of the 

 chapter on Australia in Stein's " Handbuch 

 der Geographic " (seventh edition, 1854). 



MELLIN, HENRIK, a Swedish novelist and 

 writer, born in Revolax, Finland, April 23, 

 1803 ; died August 2, 1876. Having lost both 

 his parents at an early age, he came in his 

 twelfth year to Sweden, into the house of the 

 poet Franz6n. He entered the University of 

 Upsala in 1821, and, having graduated, was 

 ordained as a priest in 1829. From this time 

 on he lived in Stockholm until 1851, in which 

 year he went to N6rre-Wram, in Sohonen, re- 

 maining there up to his death. His first lit- 

 erary attempt was the novel " Blommen pa 

 Kinnekulle " (third edition, 1831). Among 

 his other early works are the novels " Anna 

 Reibnitz" (second edition, 1833) and "Sivard 

 Kruses Brollopp" (second edition, 1863), by 

 which he immediately became one of the most 

 popular authors of Sweden. The subject for his 

 hover romances he has taken chiefly from Swed- 

 ish history. Among them are : " Johannes Fjall- 

 mann " (1831-'33), " Flickoma i Askersund " 

 (1832), " Gustaf Brahe " (1832), " Helena 

 Wrede" (1834), " Pawo Nissinen " (second 

 edition, 1838), and "Jacob Casirair de la Gar- 

 die " (1849). Among his other numerous 

 novels, the best known are : " Den gamla 

 Grefvinnan," "Den unga Grefvinnan," "Ko- 

 larflickan," " Oejungfrun," " Naema," " Prin- 

 sessan af Angola," " Froknarna," "Kolmards 

 Boerna," and others. A number of these 

 novels are found in his annual publication, 

 WinterWommor, which he published in the 

 years 1831 to 1845. A complete edition of 

 his novels appeared in 1866. Among his his- 

 torical works are: "Krigen och Statshvfilf- 

 ningerna i vara Dagar " (1849), " Trettioariga 

 Kriget" (1847-'49), "Oscar I.'s historia" 

 (1844), " Den skandinaviska Nordens his- 

 toria " (2 vols., 1850-'58), " Ffiderlandets his- 

 toria " (fourth edition, 1852), " Sveriges store 

 man," "Sveriges markvfirdigaste Fruntim- 

 mer," and others. These works were exn-t-d- 

 ingly popular, not so much on account of any 

 particular historical value, but for their popu- 

 lar and clear style. 



MERRY, Don FRAXCHSCO, a Spanish naval 

 officer, born November 6, 1798 ; died in No- 

 vember, 1876. His father was a resident mer- 

 chant, of Irish descent, and his mother a lady 

 of noble Andalusian extraction. He entered 

 the British Navy as midshipman, and was pres- 

 ent in the Stork frigate at the siege of San 



