MODERN TENDENCIES IN EDUCATION 3871 



MOHAMMED 



destroyed by the Huns in the fourth century, 

 and the ravaging Lombards later completed its 

 devastation. In the eleventh century it was 

 refounded by Mathilda of Tuscany, who began 

 the construction of its splendid cathedral. The 

 later Dukes of Tuscany built several fine pal- 

 aces which are now used as schools, museums 

 and government buildings. Modena has a small 

 trade in linen, silk goods and iron, but derives 

 its main importance from its schools, art gal- 

 lery, palaces and churches. Population of city 

 and suburbs, 1914, 75,000. 



MODERN TENDENCIES IN EDUCATION. 

 See subtitle, in article EDUCATION, page 1938. 



MODJESKA, mahjes'ka, HELENA (1844- 

 1909), a noted Polish actress who won distinc- 

 tion in Shakespearean and other roles. She 

 was born in Cracow, and at the age of seven- 

 teen married Modrzejewski, from the contrac- 

 tion of whose 

 name she w^s 

 known profes- 

 sionally. She 

 made her first ap- 

 pearance in 1861, 

 in an amateur 

 performance in 

 her own country. 

 Her husband died 

 in 1865; three 

 years later she 

 married Count 

 Bozenta Chlop- 

 kowski and one 

 year thereafter 

 became the star of the Imperial Theater of 

 Warsaw. In 1876, owing to political difficulties, 

 she left her native country for the United 

 States, and in the following year made her first 

 American professional appearance, in San Fran- 

 cisco. Her success was immediate. Though 

 she never used the English language with ease, 

 her great natural gifts gained for her a foremost 

 rank in tragic roles. She starred with Edwin 

 Booth in 1883, and remained well beloved and 

 honored until her death. Her favorite imper- 

 sonations were Juliet, Rosalind, Camille and 

 Mary Stuart. 



MODOC, mo'dok, a small group of Indians, 

 closely related to the Klamath tribe, and living 

 originally on the rich lands about Lake Kla- 

 math and the Lost River Valley, in northern 

 California and southern Oregon. Their name 

 means aliens, and it was applied to them by a 

 neighboring tribe. Their bitter struggles 

 against the white settlers and their raids upon 



HELENA MODJESKA 



neighboring tribes for slaves earned them the 

 reputation of being a hostile, warlike people. 

 The women were expert basket weavers. Their 

 homes were mud-covered huts built of timbers, 

 sometimes well hewn. After a number of 

 treacherous dealings on both sides these Indians 

 were subdued by United States troops and 

 confined on the Klamath Reservation in Ore- 

 gon and the Indian Reservation in Oklahoma. 

 They number less than 300. See INDIANS, 

 AMERICAN. 



MO'GUL, the Arabic and Persian form of 

 the word Mongol (see MONGOLS). 



MO 'HAIR, the name given to the hair of the 

 Angora goat, a native of Asia Minor, and to a 

 lustrous, durable material made from it, some- 

 times called alpaca. Except in rare cases, the 

 natural color of the hair is white, and it lacks 

 the felting properties of wool. No fabric excels 

 mohair in durability, and because of this fact 

 it is largely employed in the manufacture of 

 material which is subject to hard usage, as in 

 furniture and railway plushes. The luster is so 

 enduring that no amount of dyeing or washing 

 will dim it. Many mixtures are made of 

 mohair and silk, and numerous imitations are 

 made of wool and cotton for women's apparel. 

 Mohair was originally manufactured in the 

 East and only small quantities were exported, 

 but now it is produced in all parts of Europe 

 and America. 



MOHAMMED, moham'ed (about 570-632), 

 an Arabian, founder of the religion known in 

 the West as Mohammedanism, in- the East as 

 Islam. He was born of poor parents, whose 

 home was in Mecca, and whose members were 

 of the powerful tribe of Koreish. His father 

 died while Mohammed was a baby, and his 

 mother, following a custom of the time, gave 

 the child to a Bedouin nurse, to be raised in 

 the desert. He was subject to attacks of epi- 

 lepsy, and after three years was returned to his 

 family as one possessed of demons. His grand- 

 father adopted him, but soon died, and the 

 child was again adopted, this time by his uncle, 

 Abu Talib, a thoroughly good man who was 

 destined to be one of Mohammed's most help- 

 ful friends. With him the boy went on fine, 

 long journeys with the caravans through Arabia 

 and Syria. When he was twenty-five he began 

 service for a wealthy widow, Khadija, whom 

 he soon married, although she was about fifteen 

 years older. He successfully took care of her 

 business, managing her merchant caravans, and 

 becoming known as an honest, upright man of 

 good judgment. 



