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MAGNIFICAT MAGNOLIA. 



the choice of proper remedies, the clairvoyant is less 

 limited than before. In the former degree, it was 

 necessary to put him into connexion with another 

 person, by intermediate bodies; but, in this degree, 

 he can be in this relation witli any distant person, if 

 be knows him, or feels a lively interest for him, or 

 even if the magnetizer, or any other person brought 

 into connexion with the clairvoyant by actual touch, 

 knows the distant person, and thinks intently of him. 

 The view of the clairvoyant extends even into the 

 future condition of others. In this degree, he attains 

 to a higher, fuller life than he had before. The 

 body seems to be intimately amalgamated with the 

 mind, to be blended into the most harmonious union 

 with it. The individual is removed from every- 

 thing coarse and sensual, and placed in a state of 

 serene and elevated self-contemplation. The feeling 

 of the greatest bodily comfort and purity of soul 

 produces a serene peace within him, which expresses 

 itself in the nobler expression of the whole body. In 

 this state, which, according to the clairvoyants, bor- 

 ders on heavenly felicity, they are incapable of im- 

 purity, and even the guilty obtains the feeling of 

 virtue. 



Such are the wonders of animal magnetism, of 

 which our readers may believe much or little. The 

 attention which the subject has attracted in Europe 

 is our excuse for the length of this article. The 

 footing which it lias gained, and the effects which it 

 has produced, exemplify, strikingly, the power of 

 imagination. It would require too much space to 

 describe all the various manipulations and other 

 operations by which the patient is placed in the mag- 

 netic state ; for information respecting these, see 

 Kluge's work, already cited. 



MAGNIFICAT. The words which Mary pro- 

 nounced when she visited Elizabeth (contained in 

 chap. i. of Luke, 46 55), begin, in the Vulgate, 

 Magnificat anima mea dominum (My soul doth mag- 

 nify the Lord). Hence the whole of her thanksgiv- 

 ing, on this occasion, has been called the magnificat. 

 The present usage of the Roman Catholic church is, 

 to chant or pronounce the magnificat every day, at 

 vespers. It lias often been set to music, and forms 

 part of the musical cyclus of the Catholic church. 

 The magnificat is also often used in Protestant church 

 music, on the European continent. 



MAGNIFICENCE (highness, eminence) ; a title 

 applied to the rectors and chancellors of the German 

 universities, and to the burgomasters of free cities. 

 A prince who takes the office of a rector is styled 

 magnificentissimus. 



MAGNIFYING GLASS. See Microscope. 

 MAGNISA, or MANIKA (anciently Magnesia ad 

 Sipylum); a town of Natolia, near the Sarabat; twen- 

 ty miles N. E. of Smyrna ; Ion. 27 18' E. ; lat. 38 

 44' N. The streets are wide, the mosques painted 

 white, and the houses better than in most other 

 towns in this part of Natolia. It is situated at the 

 foot of the ancient mount Sipylus, whose top is alway 

 covered with snow. It is celebrated in history by 

 the victory of the Romans over Antiochus the Great 

 Under John Ducas, it was made the capital of the 

 Greek empire. The greatest ornament of the ancient 

 town was a temple of Diana, called Leucophryene 

 or the White browed. The environs were formerly 

 celebrated for the production of loadstone, and it is 

 supposed the word magnet is derived from it. 



MAGNITUDE, APPARENT. If straight lines be 

 drawn from the extremities of a visible object to 

 the centre of the pupil of the eye, the angle formec 

 by them is called the visual angle or the apparen 

 magnitude of the object. This angie varies with the 

 different distances of objects, being larger when the; 

 are near, and smaller when they are remote. Hence 



ur idea of the magnitude of any object, depends not 

 nly upon its true dimensions, but also upon the an- 

 le under which we view it ; and objects of very 

 ifferent dimensions will appear of equal magnitudes., 

 f the visual angles under which they are seen are 

 qual. Thus, for instance, the sun and moon, though 

 heir diameters are vastly different, each subtends an 

 ngle of about a degree. Besides, numerous preju- 

 lices and optical illusions, which we can never 

 ivercome, modify our ideas of the magnitude of ob- 

 ects. One of the most remarkable examples of such 

 nvoluntary deception, is that which every one has 

 experienced in looking at the moon : when ?t has 

 ust risen, it appears larger than when it has reached 

 lie zenith. In the horizon, we are apt to imagine it 

 t a greater distance from us than in the zenith, be- 

 ause in the former case there are intervening objects 

 vith which we can compare it, but in the latter no 

 uch objects occur. If the moon is viewed through 

 a telescope, or an open tube, so as to exclude the 

 ntervening objects, it will appear of equal magni- 

 ude in both cases, and the whole illusion will imme- 

 diately vanish. 



MAGNOLIA. The magnolia trees are much 

 admired on account of the elegance of their flowers 

 and foliage. Their leaves are alternate, petiolate, 

 and, in one species, evergreen ; and their flowers are 

 arge, white or yellowish, solitary at the extremities 

 of the branches, and, in some species, very fragrant ; 

 ,he leaves and wood are also more or less aromatic. 

 They are in great request in gardens. Their wood 

 n general is soft, spongy, and of no great utility. 



The M. tripetala, or umbrella tree, so called from 

 the disposition of the leaves, in a radiated manner, 

 towards the extremity of the branches, inhabits the 

 whole extent of the Alleghanies, as far north as the 

 Forty-third parallel of latitude. The leaves and 

 lowers are very large, the latter having from nine to 

 twelve white petals, the three exterior ones being 

 reflexed. 



The M. acuminata inhabits the same districts as 

 the preceding. It is a lofty tree, attaining the height 

 of eighty feet, with a proportional diameter. The 

 flowers are inodorous, and have from six to nine 

 petals of a greenish-yellow colour. The leaves are 

 pubescent beneath. The wood is soft, fine-grained, 

 and susceptible of a brilliant polish ; it is sometimes 

 sawed into boards, and used in the interior of wooden 

 houses. From the shape of the fruit, which is about 

 three inches long, it is usually called cucumber tree. 



The M. auriculata is readily known by the two 

 lobes at the base of the leaves. It inhabits the 

 south-western parts of the Alleghany mountains. 



The M. cordata also inhabits the south-western 

 parts of the Alleghanies. The leaves are cordate, 

 pubescent beneath, and the flowers are yellow. It 

 attains the height of forty or fifty feet. 



The M. macrophylla is remarkable for the size of 

 its leaves and flowers. The former are between 

 two and three feet long, and the latter are upwards 

 of a foot in diameter. The petals are from six to 

 nine in number, and the three exterior ones have a 

 purple spot at the base. It inhabits the south-western 

 parts of the Alleghanies, but seems to be confined to 

 certain limited districts. 



The M. glauca, or beaver wood, is a beautiful 

 little tree, or rather shrub, with leaves and flowers 

 much smaller than in any of the preceding. It attains 

 the height of fifteen or twenty feet ; the leaves are 

 smooth, elliptical, obtuse, and glaucous beneath ; the 

 flowers are very elegant, and diffuse a delightful 

 fragrance , though rather too powerful if the plant is 

 shut up in an apartment. The leaves and wood 

 have also a strong aromatic taste. It grows in wet 

 situations in the Atlantic states, from near lat. 43 



