﻿MONAQHAK. 



MONQOLIA. 



c&M MeletiMUMl MtlqnHy U Ui* rain of the kbbcy of Clonait 

 whioh i* Mud to bar* been foaaded in the 6lh oentury. At Clone* 

 there ia • round towrr etill entirf, end *t Innukean, neer the eMtem 

 botiler, there is one lew perfect in it* form, but remarkablr for baring 

 the door on a lerel with the ground. Hatha and other earth- worka appear 

 in Tariou* part* of the county. A liDgular itrocture oonciiting of 

 •areral apartmanta, arched with flat stoiies nicely fitted together, and 

 ineloeed within a wall of aimilar materiala, waa a few yrara since 

 diaeoTerod at a depth of aereral feet under a hillock, about 8 miles 

 from Monaghan, It i* aoppoaed to bare been the abode of ancient 

 hunters, and to bare baao oorered for concealiasnt with the earth 

 which Iiad b<>en remore<l to make way for its erection. 



MONAGHAN, Ireland, the chief town of the county of Monaghan, 

 and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, ia situated on the road from 

 Dublin to LoDdonilerry, in 64° 16' K. lat, 6° 53' W. long, distant by 

 road 76 milra N.X.W. from Dublin. The town is governed by a pro- 

 Toet, 12 free burgrsses^ and a body of freemriL The population in 

 1861 was 3484, beaida* 040 inmatea of the workhouse. MonsKhan 

 Poor-Law Union comprises 81 electoral divisions, with an area of 

 112.739 acres, and a population in 1S51 of 49,033. 



Tiie three principal xtreets of the town meet in a oentral square 

 oalled tb« Diamond. The town is lighted, and the streets are pared 

 and well kept The parish church is a large modern gothic structure. 

 There are a Roman Catholic chapel, two Preebyteri.tn, and two 

 Methodist meetiug-houses. On the west side of the to«m is a 

 Dioceaan school, fouuded in the reign of Elizabeth ; the number of 

 scholars in 1661 was 34. Tliere are aereral National and Kudowed 

 schools. The county court-house is a handsome moiieru buildiog in 

 the centre of the town. The county iufirmaty occupies an elerated 

 site on the east side of the town. The county jail is on the north 

 side. A well-built market>houae stands in the principal square. There 

 V alao a linen-hall, an infantry barrack, a ferer hospital, a di«pensary, 

 and a sairings bank. The manufacture of linen is carrieJ on. The 

 Ulst r Canal conu'-oting Lough Erne with Lough Neagh, passes near 

 the town, and faciliutes its trade with BelfHst, The assizes and 

 quarter and petty seeaions are held in tbe town. Fairs are held on 

 the Ut Monday of erery month. The principal market-Hfty is Monday ; 

 market* for agncultunu produce are held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and 

 Satnrday. Mooagtiaa obtained a charter from James I. The borough 

 retuniMi two member* to the Irish Parliament, but was disfranchised 

 at the Union. 



MONA.N'S, ST. [FirBBHiBi.] 



MONAbTEREVAN. [Kildarb.] 



MON^'AU. [EirrBE DouRO I MiiiBo.] 



MONCONTOUa [CdTES-DcNOBD] 



MONUEOO. [PoBTUQAU] 



MuNDUNEDO. [Qaucu, Spanish.] 



MONDOVL (Com.] 



MONDRAOOX. IBaBqDBPBOVivou.1 



MU.Sl-l&TIER. LE. [Alpib, HaDTia.] 



MuNEVMOKE. [Lohdosoebbt, County oC] 



MONFKHHATO, tbe name of a district in Piedmont, which com- 

 prises the country drained by the Tanaro, and extends from the right 

 bank of the Po to the Ligurian Apennines, Many parallel offsets 

 branch off in a northern direction, from the Ligurian Apenuines to 

 tha southern bank of the Tanaro ; and tbe ioterreoing ralleya are 

 watered by numerous streams, the Stura, tbe Oeaao, the Borbio, the 

 Peato^ the Eliero, the Tanaro, the Belbo, the two Bormide, tbe Erro, 

 and the Urba, all of which join the Tanaro above Alessandria, below 

 which town the Tanaro enters the Po. North of the Tanaro another 

 raoge of hills, pandltl with the courae of the Po, runs from the mount 

 of Sapsiga, oroosite to Turin, to the town of Osaale, and dtridea the 

 ralley of the tipper Po from that of the Tanaro. The greater part of 

 this hilly region, on both sides of the Tanaro, went by the name of 

 Monferrato, and was dirided into High Monferrato, aouth of the 

 Tanaro, and Lower Monferrato, between the Tanaro and tbe Pa The 

 principal towns of Lower Monferrato were Alessandria, Asti, Caaale, 

 and Valenu ; those of Upper Monferrato were Mondovi, Acqui, and 

 Alba. It is a faroured region, rich in oom, wine, fruit, silk, and cattle. 

 The wine* of Monfemto are the best in northern Italy ; the muscat 

 of Asti ia particularly esteemed. 



Mooferralo nave tbe title of Marquis to an ancient family, deacended 

 Atan the imperial buuM of Saxony, from the 11th century till the 

 Hwm of Chart** V., when, the male Una becoming extinct, the marqtii- 

 m»» r*U to the Oooasga of Mantua. On the death of Francesco Oon- 

 ■p iB 1618, wilboat mala iame, the Duke of Saroy claimed the 

 iaharitHM* ; <hU lad to a war batween tbe duke* of Baroy and Mantua, 

 in which Spain and Fnmoe took part, and which waa not concluded 

 tiU Ih* p(M* of Cheraaoo in ISSO, whan tbe territory in dispute was 

 diridad b«tws*a tha dukss of Mantua and Saroy. During the war of 

 tb« SfMOiah w odss sI pb tha Duke of Saroy obtaiuad the whole of 

 MuuMiilu. Tbia tarritory ia now diridad amoog the prorincea of 

 AoqvL Ataa, AuMsaxDRia. Am, Casali, aod MoanoTL 



MONFLANOIAN. [Lot kt-UabokiibO 



MUNOUIK. [HtitDuaTAii.] 



MOKOU'LIA (Mimfolit(€m), • th* Conntty of the Mongols,' oompre- 

 henda a raat extent of oountry in tbe int<-rior of Asia, between S8* and 

 68* N. lat, 84* aod 184' E. long. Its length from east te weak aseeadi 



1700 mil**, and ita width, from north to south, batwaan 100* and 

 110* E. long., 1000 milee; but towards both extramitiea of iu leuftth 

 it narrows to 600 miles. Ite area may amount te between 1,200,000 

 and 1,300,000 squire miles. It is bouu<lod N. by Siberia, E. by Mand- 

 shooria, S. by China proper, and W. by the Chinese pruvince uf Kansu 

 and the Chinese goremment of Thianahan Prlu. 



The middle portion of Mongolia is occupied by th* Great Gobi 

 (Ta-Gobi), which stretches serosa tha country south-wset and north- 

 ea*t from tbe boundary-line of tha prorinoe of Kanau to the Dnlai 

 Nor, near the boundary of Da-uria, with an arerage width of about 

 200 miles. The Gobi is tbe worst part of the oountry, the surface 

 being covered with sand or small stones, and the regetation being very 

 scanty and occurring only in single spot*. Vast traote of it are level, 

 but at great distances from one another there are hills of moderate 

 eleration. Tbe whole region is destitute of trees, and the watir, 

 which is only found at some distance below the sur&oe is brack i-li. 

 South-east of the Gobi extends a more elevated and uneven eounur, 

 which terminates in a mountain-range of considerable elevation. 



This range begins on the south, near tbe most southern point of 

 Mongolia, not far from the banks of tbe rirer Uoang-ho, about 88* N. 

 Ut, and extends northward along that rirer fur nearly 400 milea. It 

 is corered with wood, and called Alashan, or Ho-lan^ Shan. Near 

 42° N. lat it turns abruptly to tbe east, forming nesriy a right angle, 

 and it ia then call<-d Inshan by the Chinese, and Onghinu Oola by the 

 Mongols. In thin direction the chain continues, between 41° and 48* 

 N. lat, about 600 miles, when it again turns north, though less 

 abruptly, and proceeds in a north-by-east direction from 42° to 56* 

 N. lat under the name of Khing-khan Oola. The highest portion of 

 this mountain range seems to be at the point when it turns north- 

 war<l, and where a peak, called Petsha, rises far abore the snow-line, 

 and ia supposed to attein a height of more than 15,000 feet above the 

 sea. Tbe country which akirts this range along its western and 

 northern base, and extends from it to a distance of between 60 and 

 100 miles, baa a broken surface, tbe bills rising to sofaie height above 

 the valleys and small plains. It is not deficient iu water, but tree* 

 occur only in isolated tracts. As ite eleration above the Gobi is con- 

 siderable, and probably not less than 6000 feet above the sea-lerel, and 

 as it ia also much exposed to the cold winds which blow with great 

 force orer the deaert, it u nearly unfit for agriculture, and only used 

 as pasture-ground for hones, cattle, and sheep. 



South of tbe Inshan Mountains the oountry exhibits fertile valleys 

 and mouoteius, partly wooded, as far west as the place where the 

 Hoang-ho River turns southward : this fertile tract ia included in the 

 Chinese provinces of Pe-tehe-li and Shan-i>i. But the tract farther 

 west, which is surrounded by the great northern bend of the Uoang-ho, 

 partakes strongly of the features of the Gobi, and forms part of Mon- 

 golia : it is oalled the country of the Ordes, teking ita name from a 

 Mongolian tribe which belongs to the grent division of the Tshakhar 

 Mongols. Thia whole tract is covered with bills composed of loos* 

 sand, mostly without water, and entirely destitute of trees. But tbe 

 numerous depressions contain extensive meadows, with rich graas aod 

 bushes. The attempte to cultivate some parte of it have not proved 

 suoceasful, and accordingly it is abandoned to tbe Mongols and their 

 herds ; but iu order to prevent them from plundering the adjacent 

 agricultural districts of the neighbouring prorinoes of Sben-ai and 

 Kau-si, the great Chinese wall was built across tbe peninsula from 

 east to west from Pao-tsheou to Nin-ghia, 



That part of Mongolia which is to the east of the Khing-khan 051a, 

 and extends n«irly to the shores of HoangHai, or the Vellow Sea, 

 from which it is only divided by a narrow fertile tract belonging to 

 the province of Leuo-toog, is oalled Kortshin. This name is properly 

 only applied to the tract north of tbe river Sira Muren, or L«ao-bo, 

 which resemble* tbe country of the Urdes, except that it is less inter- 

 sected by sand-hills. A great portion of it seems to be of inferior 

 fertility ; but south of the Sira Muran the country containa numerous 

 meadows clothed with rich grass, and agricitltura has been introduced 

 here by the Chinese, who send to this country their criminals who are 

 condemned to transportation. A great part of it serres only as pas- 

 ture-ground. Great quantities of grain, especially wheat, an exported 

 from the prorinoe of Leao-tong to Peking and Shanghae. Tb« most 

 aouthern district uf this country is traversed by an offset of the Khing- 

 khan Mountains, which branches off from tbe principal range near th* 

 peak of Petsha, and extends in a south-ea«tom direction to the Uoaug- 

 bai, where it forms the high, rocky, and mountainous shores along the 

 western side of the Gulf of Leao-tong north of the mouth of the rivar 

 Lan-ho. Th* deolirities of this range an abundantly watered, but 

 th* northern aide is bare and destitute of wood ; whilst the southern 

 is orergrown with pine, fir, oak, lime, walnut, and other trees, aod ia 

 th* haunt of uumerou* wild animal*, among which are tigers and 

 leopards. It constitute* th* most extensive hunting-ground of the 

 Chinese amperor, and contains the royal palaoe of Icnol, which was 

 riaited by Lord Macartney and d**cribed by Sir George Suuuton. 

 Th* tnot on both aid** of th* Lan-ho is an ■grioultuial oountry of 

 grsat fertilitr and well cultivated. Though, includad within the 

 boundary of Mongolia, it is inhabited by Chinese, and is rery populous. 

 Beaides sereral small towns, it oontains the large town of Quao-tihing. 



The country which extends along the north-western side of tbe 

 Ta-Gobi is nearly unknown, with the exception of th* eastern part 



J 



