40 



MONSTERS MONTAGU. 



Ifsrree of soulh latitude. From April to October, a 

 violent south-west wind blows, accompanied witli 

 rain, and from October to April a gentle, dry, iiorth- 

 r.txt breeze prevails. The cliange of the winds, or 

 the breaking up of the monsoons, as it is called, is 

 accompanied by storms and hurricanes. These perio- 

 dical currents of winds do not reach very high, as 

 their progress is arrested by mountains of a moderate 

 height. See Winds. 



MONSTKRS; in physiology, creatures whose for- 

 mation deviates in some remarkable way from the 

 usual formation of their kind. The deviation con- 

 sists sometimes in an unusual number of one or 

 several organs ; sometimes, on the contrary, in a 

 deficiency of parts ; sometimes in a malformation of 

 the whole or some portion of the system, and some- 

 times in the presence of organs or parts not ordinarily 

 belonging to the sex or species. In most cases, 

 these unusual formations are not incompatible with 

 the regular performance of the natural functions, 

 although they sometimes impede them, and, in some 

 cases, are entirely inconsistent with the continuance 

 of the vital action. It is not surprising that we 

 should be ignorant of the manner in which monsters, 

 or irregular births, are generated or produced ; 

 though it is probable that the laws by which these 

 nre governed are as regular, both as to cause and 

 effect, as in common or natural productions. For- 

 merly, it was a general opinion, that monsters were 

 not primordial or aboriginal, but that they were 

 caused subsequently by the power of the imagination 

 of the mother, transferring the imperfection of some 

 external object, or the mark of something for which 

 she longed, and with which she was not indulged, to 

 the child of which she was pregnant, or by some 

 accident which happened to her during her preg- 

 nancy. But this has been disproved by common 

 observation, and by philosophy, not, perhaps, by 

 positive proofs, but by many strong negative facts ; 

 as the improbability of any child being born perfect, 

 had such a power existed ; the freedom of children 

 from any blemish, though their mothers had been in 

 situations most exposed to objects likely to produce 

 them ; the ignorance of the mother of any thing 

 being wrong in the child, till, from information of the 

 fact, she begins to recollect every accident which 

 happened during her pregnancy, and assigns the 

 worst or the most plausible as the cause ; the organ- 

 ization and colour of these adventitious substances ; 

 the frequent occurrence of monsters in the brute 

 creation, in which the power of the imagination 

 cannot be great ; and the analogous appearances in 

 the vegetable system. Judging, however, from 

 appearances, accidents may perhaps be allowed to 

 have considerable influence in the production of 

 monsters of some kinds, either by actual injury upon 

 parts, or by suppressing or deranging the principle 

 of growth, because, when an arm, for instance, is 

 wanting, the rudiments of the deficient parts may 

 generally be discovered. 



MONSTRELET, ENGCERRAND DE, a chronicler 

 of the fifteenth century, born at Cambray, of which 

 he became governor, was the author of a history in 

 French, of his own times. The history extends from 

 1400 to 1467 ; but the last fifteen years were fur- 

 nished by another hand. It contains a narrative of 

 the contentions of the houses of Orleans and Bur- 

 gundy, the capture of Normandy and Paris by the 

 English, with their expulsion, &c. Monstrelet died 

 in 1453. 



MONT BLANC (white mountain); the loftiest 

 mountain of Europe one of the summits of the Pen- 

 nine Alps, on the borders of Savoy and Aosta, 

 between the valleys of Chamouni and Entreves; 

 lat. 45 50' N.; Ion. 6 C 52' E. The following mea- 



surements of its elevation above the surface of the 

 Mediterranean sea are deemed the most accurate: 

 by M. Deluc, 15,302 feet ; M. Pictet, 15,520 ; Sir 

 George Shuckburgh, 15,602; M. Saussure, 15,670; 

 M. Tralles, 15,780. Its elevation above the valley of 

 Chamouni is 12,100 feet. It is discernible from Dijon 

 and Langres, 140 miles distant. It received its 

 name from the immense mantle of snow with which 

 its summit and sides are covered, and which is esti- 

 mated to extend not Jess than 12,000 feet, without 

 the least appearance of rock to interrupt its glaring 

 whiteness. An ascent to the summit was first made, 

 in 1786, by doctor Pacard, of Chamouni, and his 

 guide, James Balma. In August, 1787, Saussure 

 ascended it with eighteen guides, and remained on 

 the summit five hours. The pulse was found to beat 

 more rapidly, and the party complained of exhaustion, 

 thirst, and want of appetite. The colour of the sky 

 was very deep blue, bordering on black, and in the 

 shade the stars were visible. Up to 1828, fourteen 

 ascents had been made. In 1818, Messrs Howard 

 and Van Renssalaer from New York, in 1825, doctor 

 Clark and captain Sherwill, ascended it. See Sher- 

 will's Visit to the Summit of Mont Blanc (London, 

 1827.) In 1827, two English gentlemen, who made 

 the attempt, were obliged, by a new cleft in the ice, 

 to take a new course, which has proved to be less 

 toilsome and hazardous than the former. Eighteen 

 glaciers lie around, whose various and fantastic forms 

 increase the magical effect of the wonderful spectacle 

 from the summit, from which the view extends nearly 

 150 miles in almost every direction. The highest 

 summit is a small ridge, about six feet wide, precipi- 

 tous on the north side, and called in Savoy, the 

 dromedary's back. It is covered with a solid body 

 of snow. Seedlps, Glaciers, Andes, Himalaya, and 

 Mountains. 



MONT D'OR ; a mountain of France, in Puy-de,- 

 Dome, about 6130 feet above the level of the sea, 

 abounding in curious plants and mineral springs. 



MONT PERDU ; summit of the Pyrenees, on the 

 frontier line between France and Spain ; about 100 

 miles east of the bay of Biscay, and further west 

 from the Mediterranean. It has a double summit, 

 one computed at 10,700 feet, or, by another state- 

 ment, 11,265 feet high; the other at 10,400. The 

 line of perpetual congelation here is about 7500 feet 

 in height. 



MONTAGU, CHARLES, earl of Halifax ; an Eng- 

 lish statesman and poet, born at Horton, in North- 

 amptonshire, in 1661. He was descended from the 

 family of the Montagus, earls of Manchester, and 

 was educated at Westminster school, and Trinity 

 college, Cambridge. From the university he went 

 to London, where he attracted notice by his verses 

 on the death of Charles II.; and, in 1687, he wrote, 

 in conjunction with Prior, the City Mouse and 

 Country Mouse a travesty on Dryden's Hind and 

 Panther. In the reign of William III. he obtained 

 the place of clerk of the privy council, and became a 

 member of the house of commons. In 1694, he was 

 made chancellor of the exchequer, and subsequently 

 first lord of the treasury. His administration was 

 distinguished by the adoption of the funding system, 

 and the establishment of the bank of England. In 

 1698, Montagu was a member of the council of 

 regency during the absence of the king, and, in 

 1700, was raised to the peerage. In the reign of 

 Anne, when tory influence prevailed, he was twice 

 impeached before the house of lords ; but the pro- 

 ceedings against him fell to the ground. George I. 

 created him earl, and bestowed on him the order of 

 the garter ; but Halifax, being disappointed in his 

 expectation of obtaining the office of lord treasurer, 

 joined the opposition. His death took place M;iy 



