MALTHUS MANSFIELD. 



639 



ing at the side, and a corset with sleeves. The 

 hair, covered with pomatum and powder is ar- 

 ranged in a high cone in front of the head, and the 

 face is concealed by a large black silken veil called 

 faldetta, which the wearer adroitly shifts when ex- 

 posing her features to a side or full view. Many 

 ladies of the upper class have recently adopted the 

 English costume, except during the time of per- 

 forming their religious duties, when they appear at 

 church in their ancient costume. 



The upper class speak Italian ; the language of 

 the common people is a patois compounded of 

 Arabic, German, Italian, and other languages. 

 The Arabic, however, so far predominates, that 

 the peasants of Malta and Barbary can without 

 much difficulty understand each other. 



Religion. A scrupulous attention to the rites 

 of their church is characteristic of the Maltese, 

 whose established faith is that of Rome. The 

 landed property belonging to the church is con- 

 siderable ; and there are about 1000 secular and 

 regular clergy in the two islands. 



Malta is at present ruled by a military governor, 

 appointed by the crown, and a council, the consti- 

 tution of which is seven members, four of which 

 must hold offices within the island, namely, the 

 senior officer in command for the time being (not 

 in the administration of the government) ; the 

 chief justice; the archbishop; and the chief secre- 

 tary to government. The three unofficial mem- 

 bers of the council are to be selected by the gov- 

 ernor ; two from out of the chief landed proprie- 

 tors and merchants, being his majesty's native 

 (Maltese) born subjects ; and the third from among 

 the principal merchants of the island, being a Bri- 

 tish born subject, and who shall have actually re- 

 sided in the island for a period of not less than two 

 years. The island is protected by a naval squad- 

 ron, Malta being the head quarters of our Mediter- 

 ranean fleet ; and by a garrison of British troops, 

 and a regiment of Maltese fencibles, consisting of 

 twenty-five officers, forty-one non-commissioned 

 ditto, and 468 rank and file, which the Maltese 

 themselves pay for 



MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT, whose specula- 

 tions on the question of population form so pro- 

 minent a feature in modern political economy, was 

 born on the 14th of February, 1766, at the Rook- 

 ery, near Dorking, then the property and residence 

 of his father. Having received his earlier educa- 

 tion under the care of the Rev. Mr Graves of Cla- 

 verton, he went to Jesus college, Cambridge, where 

 he obtained a fellowship, and graduated B. A. 1788, 

 as ninth Wrangler; M.A. 1791. In 1798 he pub- 

 lished his " Essay on Population, with Remarks on 

 the Speculations of Godwin and Condorcet," being 

 the precursor, rather than the first edition, of his 

 great work on Population. In 1804 he was appointed 

 to the chair of History and Political Economy in 

 the East India Company's college in Herefordshire; 

 a situation which he filled during the remainder of 

 life. He was a fellow of the" royal society; and 

 some years before his death was enrolled as a 

 member of the National Institute of France ; a dis- 

 tinction conferred generally only on men of the 

 greatest eminence. Mr Malthas was a clergy- 

 man of the church of England, and during the 

 greater part of his life read prayers and preached 

 regularly in turn with the other professors, in the 

 chapel of the East India college at Hailey bury ; in 

 these services, and, indeed, in every other ordi- 

 nance of religion, his manner was uniformly serious 



and devout : his sermons were calculated to make 

 a strong impression on the minds of the young men 

 who felt and acknowledged their value; and they be- 

 came more earnest and more edifying every year he 

 lived. In religion, indeed, as well as in other 

 things, he was always unobtrusive and unostenta- 

 tious. In person, he was tall, and elegantly formed ; 

 and his appearance, no less than his conduct, was 

 that of a perfect gentleman. His death took place 

 at the house of his father-in-law, at Bath ; on the 

 29th of December, 1834 ; and he was buried in the 

 Abbey church. He left a widow, the daughter of 

 John Eckersall, Esq., of St Catharine's, near Bath ; 

 a son, the Rev. Henry Malthus, and a daughter. 

 For an account of his peculiar tenets, see Political 

 Economy. 



MALVERN. There are two parishes of this 

 name in the county of Worcester, distinguished as 

 Great Malvern, and Little Malvern. Population 

 of Great Malvern in 1841, 2911 ; of Little Mal- 

 vern, 103. 



Great Malvern is a place of considerable resort 

 in consequence of its antiquities, natural beauties, 

 and salubrity, but more particularly for its medici- 

 nal springs, called St Ann's and the Holy Wells. 

 The village contains several hotels and lodging- 

 houses for visitors. The church of Great Malvern 

 is a very ancient Gothic structure, of the cathedral 

 description ; it is 171 feet in length and sixty-three 

 in breadth. It has a fine tower with battlements 

 and pinnacles, rising from the centre of the build- 

 ing, 124 feet in height, containing six bells, a clock, 

 and chimes. This church formerly belonged to, 

 and formed part of the famous monastery which 

 long existed here, and held the rank of one of the 

 most magnificent, rich, and influential religious in- 

 stitutions of the kingdom. It was founded for 

 secular canons, previously to the conquest, and en- 

 dowed by Edward the confessor ; the only part of 

 this once extensive edifice now remaining is the 

 gateway, which is in a state of excellent preserva- 

 tion. At the general dissolution of monasteries in 

 the reign of Henry VIII. the inhabitants bought 

 the church, and made it parochial. 



The Malvern Hills adjoining this village, and 

 extending into Herefordshire, are of very large 

 dimensions, stretching along for nine miles in length, 

 and varying from one to two in breadth. The 

 highest parts are those called the Worcestershire 

 and Herefordshire Brecons; the former is 1300, 

 and the latter 1260 feet above the level of the plain. 

 These hills are approachable with the greatest ease 

 imaginable, even by invalids, so gentle in some 

 parts is the acclivity; they present views of the 

 finest description over Wales and the counties of 

 Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester. They have 

 the appearance of vast rocks, and are composed of 

 limestone towards the west, and a species of quartz 

 towards the east. 



MANSFIELD; a town in the county of Not- 

 tingham, on the border of Sherwood forest; dis- 

 tant from Nottingham 12 miles N. by W. ; from 

 London 128 miles N. N. E. It was anciently a 

 British, and afterwards a Roman station, and 

 flourished during the Saxon heptarchy, being a fa- 

 vourite occasional residence of the Mercian kings. 

 In the time of Edward the confessor it was a royal 

 demesne, and continued so until William Rufus 

 gave it to the cathedral of St Mary, at Lincoln. 

 When Sherwood Forest was a royal chase, the 

 kings of England had a hunting seat here. The 

 town is neat and well built, and has latterly been 



