750 



MECHELN MEDEA. 



niul his breathing will scarcely be quickened at the 

 lop ; but, it' lie walk up slowly, his legs will feel 

 fatigued, and he will have to wait some time before 

 li.' run speak calmly. 



For the same reason, coach-horses are much spared 

 by being made to gallop up a short hill, and being 

 '.hen allowed to go more slowly for a little time, so 

 as to rest at the top. 



The rapid waste of muscular strength, which 

 arises from continued action, is shown by keeping 1 

 the arm extended horizontally for some time; few can 

 continue the exertion beyond a minute or two. In 

 animals which have long horizontal necks, there is a 

 provision of nature in a strong elastic substance on 

 the back, or upper part, of the neck, which nearly 

 supports the head, independently of muscular exer- 

 tion. 



MECHELN, or MECKENEN, ISRAEL OF ; two 

 artists, father and son, the former of whom appears 

 to have been a painter, the latter a goldsmith, and 

 one of the earliest and most distinguished engravers. 

 They lived between 1450 and 1503. The son was 

 born at Mecheln, near Bocholt. From his drawing, 

 we may conjecture that he was a scholar of Van 

 Eyk. Of the circumstances of his life, little else is 

 known than that he lived, during his latter years, at 

 Bocholt, and died there in 1503. His engravings 

 are rare, and much sought after ; yet they bear the 

 marks of a rude taste and imperfect drawing, incor- 

 rect perspective, and other traits which characterize 

 the period. They are chiefly valuable for the mi- 

 nute accuracy of their execution, and as monuments 

 of the history of the art. 



MEHLIN, or MECHELN (in French, Malines) ; 

 a city lately belonging to the kingdom of the Neth- 

 erlands, in the Belgic province of Antwerp, five 

 leagues south of the city of Antwerp, and four and 

 a half north-east of Brussels, on the Dyle and the 

 Louvain canal ; archiepiscopal see ; population, 

 18,000. The streets are broad and well paved, and 

 the buildings handsome : the cathedral, with a tower 

 348 feet high ; the Beguine house, which serves as 

 an asylum for 800 widows or aged women ; the ar- 

 senal, with a cannon foundery ; the archbishop's 

 palace, &c., are the principal. The lace, woollen, 

 calico, and hat manufactures are extensive, and the 

 tanneries and breweries are considerable. Its com- 

 merce by the Dyle, which is navigable for large 

 ships, is important in grain, oil, flax, and hops. The 

 time of its foundation is not known : it is an old city, 

 and was surrounded by ramparts in the tenth cen- 

 tury. It has been repeatedly inundated by the 

 Dyle, and captured by the Spanish, Dutch, British, 

 nnd French. The latter destroyed its fortifications 

 in 1804. See Netherlands. 



MECHOACAN, or VALLADOLID ; one of the 

 states of the Mexican republic, formed, in 1824, of 

 the former province or intendancy, of Mechoacan or 

 Valladolid, bounded by the states of Guanaxuato 

 and Mexico, and the Pacific ocean ; lat. 18 to 20 

 30* N. ; Ion. 104 20' to 108 50' W. Its produc- 

 tions are cotton, corn, sugar-cane, indigo, gold, sil- 

 ver, copper lead, &c. Mechoacnn was an Indian 

 kingdom at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards 

 in Mexico, and was conquered by one of the gener- 

 als of Cortez, in 1524. There are, at present, three 

 tribes of Indians, forming the greatest part of its 

 population, within its limits the Tarascos, the Oto- 

 mites and Chichimeks. The population was estimated 

 by Humboldt, in 1803, at 376,400. (See Mexico.) 

 Capital, Valladolid (q. v.). 



MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN; a grand-duchy 

 in the north of Germany, lying between the Baltic, 

 the kingdom of Hanover, and the Prussian territories; 

 a member of the Germanic confederation. The 



population is 430,927, principally Lutherans (3058 

 Jews) ; the superficial extent of the grand duchy, 

 4833 square miles ; revenue of the state, 2,200,000 

 guilders ; debt, between eight and ten millions ; 

 capital, Schwerin, with 11,230 inhabitants. The 

 grand duke has two votes in the plenum, and, with 

 the grand duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the four- 

 teenth vote in the diet. The two duchies have also 

 a common supreme, court of appeal at Parchim. 

 The population of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is prin- 

 cipally agricultural ; the manufactures are inconsid- 

 erable ; the foreign commerce is carried on chiefly 

 from the ports of Rostock and Wismar ; corn and 

 cattle are the principal articles. 



MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ ; a grand duchy 

 in the north of Germany, divided into two parts by 

 the grand-duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (q. v.). 

 It has 75,500 inhabitants on a superficial area of 

 1590 square miles. It has one vote in the German 

 plenum. The capital is Neustrelitz, with 5400 in- 

 habitants. The productions, and the condition and 

 employment of the inhabitants, are the same as in 

 Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 



MEDALLIONS. The term medallion is applied 

 to those productions of the mint which, if gold, ex- 

 ceed the aureus in size ; if silver, the denarius ; and 

 if copper, the first, or large brass. Antiquaries 

 have long differed as to the purposes for which they 

 were designed ; they are generally, however, sup- 

 posed to have been struck, like the medals of our 

 time, to commemorate some remarkable event. Yet 

 circumstances are not wanting to render it probable 

 that they were intended for circulation as money. 

 Perhaps both objects were united, at least in many 

 instances, a large number of pieces, of a definite 

 value, being coined in memory of a great event, and 

 thus adapted, at the same time, for current use. 

 Medallions are not numerous. The Greek, or those 

 struck in the Greek provinces of the Roman empire, 

 are more common than the Roman, but of inferior 

 workmanship. A gold medallion exists of Augustus, 

 and one of Domitian ; but few, in any metal, are 

 found prior to the reigns of Adrian and Antonine ; 

 those in brass are the largest, many of them being 

 several inches in diameter. See Numismatics. 



MEDALS. See Numismatics. 



MEDEA ; daughter of Aetes, king of Colchis. 

 By some, her mother is said to be Idyia, daughter of 

 Oceanus ; by others, Hecate. Mythology ascribes to 

 her a profound knowledge of the secret virtues of 

 vegetables, by means of which she practised witch- 

 craft. She saved the lives of many foreigners by 

 her prayers and the aid which she rendered them, 

 but thereby incurred the suspicions of her father, 

 and was thrown by him into prison, from which she 

 escaped to the temple of the sun. Her connexion 

 with Jason (q. v.), the leader of the Argonauts, is 

 celebrated. For ten years she lived with him in 

 wedlock, after having supported him in every danger, 

 till the charms of Glauce, or Creusa, the daughter of 

 king Creon, kindled a new passion in him, and he 

 discarded the unhappy Medea. According to some, 

 Jason separated from her, because of the reproaches 

 heaped on him for having a foreign sorceress for his 

 wife. Under the semblance of patient resignation, 

 she brooded on revenge. With this purpose, she 

 sent the bride, as a wedding gift, a garment which, 

 when she put it on, enveloped her in a consuming 

 flame, so that she died a death of the utmost anguish. 

 Another account is, that she sent her rival a poisoned 

 crown of gold by her stepsons. She reduced Creon 's 

 palace to ashes by a shower of fire, murdered her two 

 children by Jason, and then mounted her dragon, 

 chariot, and escaped. Some say that she went to 

 Hercules, others to Athens, to king ^Egeus, by whom 



