M I R 
551 
M I R 
'but tlveir ierviceis confined to the mountains, which they 
climb with wonderful agiiity. 
MIQUELO'N, an ifiand in the Atlantic Ocean, near 
the fouth coaft of Newfoundland. This ifiand was ceded 
to the French by the peace of Paris, in 1763. In the year 
7778, the Englifh deftroyed the fettlement, and kept the 
ifiand till the year 1783, when it was reftored by the peace; 
in the year 1793 it was taken by the Englifh, and reftored 
at the peace of Amiens. It was again taken in the war 
that fo foon followed, and finally reftored after the general 
peace, in June 1816. It lies about nine miles welt from 
Cape May. Lat. 46. 56. N. Ion. 56. 5. W. 
MIR, a town of Lithuania, in the palatinate of Ng- 
vogrodek : twenty-four miles fouth-eaft of Novogrodek. 
MIR-NA'SER, .a town of Perfia, in the province of 
Adirbeitzan : thirty miles weft-north-weft of Urmia. 
MI'RA, a town of Italy, on both banks of the Brenta, 
inhabited by about 1000 fouls. It poflefles fluices for the 
.paflage of boats, not far from the mouth of another canal,, 
which, under the name of Taglio Noviffimo, extends as 
far as the port of Brondolo. Mira is ten miles eaft-north- 
ieaft of Padua, and eight weft of Venice.. 
MI'RA, a town of Moldavia: forty-four miles fouth- 
weft of Birlat. 
MI'RA, a town of South-America, in the province of 
Chocos : fifty miles north of Zitara. 
MI'RA, a town of Portugal, in the province of Bei-ras 
■thirteen miles fouth of Braga^a Nova, and fixteen north- 
weft'of Coimbra. 
MI'RA, a river of Peru, which runs into the Pacific 
Ocean in lat. 1.4.0. N. 
MIRABAT', or Mjr'bat, a town of Arabia, in the 
•province of Oman : 260 miles fouth-weft of Mafcat. 
MIRABAU'D (John Baptift), a man of letters, de- 
fcended from a family of Provence, was born at Paris in 
1673. In his youth he entered into the military fervice, 
.and was pr-efent at fe.veral battles, one of which was that 
.of Steinkerk. It was probably after his military career 
that he became for fome time a member of the Congrega¬ 
tion of the Oratory, to which fociety he remained all his 
life much attached, though he took no part in the theolo¬ 
gical quarrels of the time. After be had devoted himfelf 
■to a literary life, lie was engaged in the feryice of the houfe 
,of Orleans, and was entrufted with the education of two 
young pifincelles of that family. He firft became known 
.as an author by his tranllation of Taffo’s Jerafalem De¬ 
livered. This work gave him an entrance into the French 
Academy in 1726, though not without lome murmurs 
■from original writers, who alleged that the patronage of 
the houfe of Orleans had more contributed to procure 
him this diitindlion, than his merit as a writer. The fu.c- 
.cefs of his Tafto induced him, fome years afterwards, to 
.undertake a veriion of the Orlando Furiofo; which was 
alfo favourably received by the public. The literary re¬ 
putation and the amiable private charafter of Mirabaud 
caufed him, in 1742, to be elected perpetual fecretary of 
the French Academy, on the acceptance of which poll, he 
infilled upon renouncing the right to a double fee of at¬ 
tendance which his predeceflbrs had enjoyed. In return 
for this difintereftednefs, the Academy procured for him 
an apartment in the Louvre, and a peniion was thence¬ 
forth attached to the fecretarylhip. After having occu¬ 
pied this place for feveral years, his age and infirmities 
cauled him to refign it to Duclos, who infilled upon his 
‘keeping his penfion.and apartment in the Louvre, where 
he died with perfect tranquillity in the year 1760, at the 
age of' eighty-fix, Mirabaud was of a mild and .equal 
temper, cheerful, frank, unaffe&ed, and upright, a true 
philofopher in his condudl and fentiments. Befid.es the 
two tranllations above mentioned, he'had compofed va¬ 
rious works on interelling topics of literature, hiftory, and 
.philofophy, “ and even, as was reported, (fays D’Alem¬ 
bert,) on the moll delicate and important fubjefts.” The 
.latter circumftance was probably the caule that the cele- 
-.iorated work, entitled, “ Syfteme de la Nature,” publilhed 
in 1770, and which is a fyftem of undifguifed atheilm, 
had his name prefixed. While d’Alembert contents him¬ 
felf with (bowing the improbability that this (hould have 
been written by him, others pofitively deny that it was 
his : it is now generally believed that he was not the au¬ 
thor. D’Alembert, <Elopjes Academ. Nouv. Dad. Hift. 
MIRABEAU' (Vidlor Riquetti, Marquis of), a French 
political writer, and one of the leaders of the left of Eco- 
nomilts, was born of an ancient family of Provence, ori¬ 
ginally from Florence. His literary reputation .co\n- 
menced with a work entitled, “ L’Ami des Homines,” 
publilhed in 175s, in 3 vols. 121110. This performance, 
written in a diffule and iacorrefl ftyle, and defective in 
precision and method, contains many uleful and luminous 
ideas on rural and political ceconomy, and difplays liberal 
and'judicious views of the great iuterefts of lociety. It 
obtained fo much public approbation and celebrity, that 
the name of the work became an epithet of the author., 
who is diftinguilhed as Mirabeau l'ami das homines. He 
afterwards wrote againft corvees, and in favour of provin¬ 
cial adminiftrations, and publilhed a “ Theorie de PIrn- 
.pot 5” all which writings breathed a fpirit of improve¬ 
ment and reform, which together with the ftriclures 011 
the financiers, was fo little agreeable to the court, that we 
need not wonder he foon found his way to the Baftile. It 
is admitted, that, though his notions were fomewhat pa¬ 
radoxical and confuted, yet that he diffemiaated in the 
public mind fome precious feeds, of which part were ren¬ 
dered abortive, but part proceeded to germination. By 
others he is faid to have lquandered his fortune among 
miftreffes, and to have been a bad hulband, a bad father, 
and a bad citizen. How far thefe charges are well founded, 
it is not eafy, in the midft of party-animofities, to fub- 
llantiate. The marquis died in 1790, at the commence¬ 
ment of the revolution, after he had (hown ail attachment 
to the court, whillt his foil was fo much diftinguilhed in 
the popular party. His writings were publilhed collec¬ 
tively, in 8 vols. n'rao. with the exception of a work, en¬ 
titled, “ Homines a cele'orer,” 2 vols. 8vo. which he lent 
in manufcript to his friend, father Bofcovich, by whom 
it was printed at Baffano. Gen. Biog. 
MIRABEAU' (Honore-Gabriel Riquetti, Count of), 
eldell foo of the preceding, was born in 1749. Much care 
was bellowed on his education ; but an inipetuolity of 
temper, and fuperabundance of vivacity, impeded his pro¬ 
gress in the ordinary lludies of youth. It would l'eem, 
however, that a contempt for thefe lludies was the prin¬ 
cipal caule of his want of application ; for it is faid that, 
a more difcerning tutor having put into his hands Locke 
on the Human .Underilanding, he lat down to the perulal 
of it with the clofeft attention, and, after fome progrels, 
exclaimed, “ This is the book I wanted !” At the age 
when the .energy of the pallions begins to dilclofe itfelf, 
young Mirabeau exhibited an ungovernable and daring 
Spirit, with a propenfity to every Species of irregularity. 
His father is charged with improper feverity in the treat¬ 
ment of his fon, while the latter has been accufed of hav¬ 
ing proceeded to fuck a degree of criminality as to enter¬ 
tain deligns of parricide. Whatever were the grounds of 
difference, the breach became fo wide, that the marquis 
obtained a lettre de cachet againft his fon, then feventeen 
years old, by means of which he was clofely confined in 
the Ifle of Rhe for two years. O11 his liberation he pro¬ 
cured a commillion in a regiment of dragoons, with which 
he ferved above a year in Corfica. When he returned to 
France, he precipitated himfelf into every kind of extra¬ 
vagance ; and, as his father refufed to fupply his demands, 
he became involved in great pecuniary difficulties. In 
order to extricate himfelf, he paid his addrelles to a young 
lady of family and large fortune in Provence, who was al¬ 
ready engaged to another ; and fuck were his powers of 
intrigue, that he found means to break the intended con¬ 
nexion, and obtain her hand. His father could not be 
induced to contribute more than his confent to this union; 
and his diflipationsfoon brought him into n.ew difficulties 
His 
