McBRIDE 



3551 



MCCARTHY 



tragedy of life, a picture of the downfall of 

 who yielded to the voice of over-reaching 



ibition. From the meeting of Macbeth and 

 witches on the lonely heath, in the first 



;t, an element of the supernatural pervades 

 the play. The witches are symbols of evil sug- 

 gestion, for they stimulate in Macbeth the lust 

 for power that is to ruin him, and it is from 

 them that he receives the suggestion that 

 Banquo stands as an obstacle in his path. The 

 subsequent murder of Banquo and the appear- 

 ance of his ghost at the feast mark the climax 

 of the play. Macbeth has given himself over 

 entirely to the forces of evil, but from this 

 point on he pays the price of his crimes. 



Probably the spiritual struggle of Lady Mac- 

 beth holds as much interest for the reader as 

 that of her husband. She shows greater strength 

 of purpose in the beginning than he ; it is to her 

 that Shakespeare gives the oft-quoted lines 



We fail ! 



But screw your courage to the sticking-place, 



And we'll not fail. 



Yet she seems to have possessed the finer 

 nature, for her mind gives way under the bur- 

 den of her guilty secret, and in the pathetic 

 sleep-walking scene she cries despairingly 



Out, damned spot ! out, I say ! * 

 What, will these hands ne'er be clean? 



***** Here's the smell of the blood still : 

 all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this 

 little hand. 



Shakespeare is supposed to have written the 

 play in 1606. It first appeared in print in the 

 folio of 1623. The roles of Macbeth and Lady 

 Macbeth have been portrayed by some of the 

 greatest actors. R.D.M. 



McBRIDE, SIR RICHARD (1870-1917), a Cana- 

 dian barrister and statesman, for twelve years 

 premier of British Columbia. Sir Richard is one 

 of the men who have played a leading part in 

 the development of the Pacific province. Po- 

 litical opponents have found fault with his poli- 

 cies and his occasional arbitrary actions, but 

 even they admit the progress made by British 

 Columbia between 1903 and 1915, the years dur- 

 ing which he w,as in control. Economic devel- 

 opment of the province, especially through finan- 

 cial assistance to railways, was one of his car- 

 dinal principles. 



McBride was born at New Westminster, B. C., 

 attended the public schools of that city, and 

 later attended Dalhousie University, at Hali- 

 fax, N. S. He was called to the bar in 1892, 

 and for six years practiced his profession at 

 Victoria, B. C. Entering the provincial legis- 

 lative assembly in 1898 as a Conservative, he 



quickly won a high place in political life. In 

 1900 he assumed the position of minister of 

 mines in the Dunsmuir administration, but re- 

 signed after a year because of a disagreement 

 with his chief. In 1902 the Conservatives chose 

 him to lead them in opposition, and in 1903 

 he was appointed provincial premier and min- 

 ister of mines. During the next twelve years 

 occasional reorganizations of the ministry were 

 necessary, but McBride succeeded in maintain- 

 ing his leadership. It was generally assumed 

 that he would continue indefinitely in active 

 politics, but in 1915 he resigned the premier- 

 ship, and temporarily, at least, withdrew from 

 politics to become provincial commissioner to 

 Great Britain, with headquarters at London. 



MACCABEES , mak ' a beez, a Jewish dynasty 

 of heroes who were credited with being the de- 

 liverers of Judea and Judaism from the perse- 

 cutions of the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes. 

 The original name of the family was Hasmo- 

 neans. It consisted of the aged Matthias and 

 his five sons, who led a rebellion against the 

 oppressing Syrians, conquered and killed many 

 of their tribes and destroyed their pagan altars. 

 Matthias died in 167 B: c., and was succeeded by 

 his son Judas, to whom alone, according to the 

 Scriptures, properly belongs the surname Mac- 

 cabacus, and who by his heroism and loyalty to 

 the faith of his fathers was responsible for this 

 illustrious period of Jewish history. The fra- 

 ternal order, the Maccabees of the World 

 (which see), was named for this dynasty. 



MACCABEES OF THE WORLD, KNIGHTS 

 OF, a fraternal and benevolent society to which 

 all white male persons of sound health and 

 good character, between the ages of eighteen 

 and seventy, are eligible. Its name was derived 

 from the Biblical Maccabees (see MACCABEES). 

 The order was founded at London, Ontario, in 

 1878 and reorganized in 1883. Its headquarters, 

 known as the Supreme Tent, are now located at 

 Port Huron, Mich. Between the meetings of 

 the governing body, which take place once in 

 three years, the affairs of the society are ad- 

 ministered by a board of seven trustees. The 

 purpose of the order is to provide social and 

 fraternal intercourse among its members and 

 benefits in the way of insurance to the families 

 of deceased members. Since its organization 

 the society has disbursed over $53,000,000 in 

 benefits. The membership in September, 1916, 

 was 316,575. Prior to 1904 the association was 

 known as The Knights of the Maccabees. 



MCCARTHY, makar'thi, JUSTIN (1830-1912), 

 a writer, lecturer and statesman, whose literary 



