561 
M I R 
It is ufed for pattern ; for that on which the eye ought 
to be fixed, as men look in a glafs to adjufl their mien 
ordrefs; an exemplar; an archetype.—How far’d thou, 
mirror of all martial men ? Shaliejpeare.—Mirror of an¬ 
cient faith in early youth. Dryden. —The works of nature 
are no lefs exaft, than if file did both behold and Audy 
how to exprefs fome abfolute fhape or mirror always pre- 
fent before her. Hooker. 
O goddefs, heavenly bright, 
Mirrour of grace and majedy divine. Spenfer's F. Q. 
For the phenomena of mirrors, as connefted with fcience, 
fee the article Optics. 
MIR'ROR-STONE, /. A kind of tranfparent done; 
Gypfum felenites. 
MIRSERAI', a town of Perfia, in Chorafan: tw-elve 
miles wed of Sebfvar. 
MIRTH, f. [myp'S, Sax. mypij, merry.] Merriment; 
jollity ; gaiety ; laughter.—I have always preferred cheer- 
fulnefs to mirth. The latter I confider as an aft, the for¬ 
mer as an habit, of the mind. Mirth is fliort and tran- 
fient, cheerfulnefs fixed and permanent. Addijon. 
To give a kingdom for a mirth, to fit. 
To keep the turn of tippling with a flave. Shakefpcare. 
MIRTH-INSPIRING, adj. Cheering; heartening: 
With genial joy to warm the foul, 
Bright Helen mix’d a mirth-inj'piring bowl. Pope's Odyff. 
MIR'TH-MOVING, adj. Exciting mirth : 
His eye begets occafion for his wit: 
Fpr every objeft that the one doth catch, 
The other turns to a mirth-moving jed. 
Shakejpeare. 
MIR'THED, adj. Cheered; made merry. Chaucer. 
MIRTHFUL, adj. Merry; gay; cheerful: 
No fimple word, 
That diall be utter’d at our mirthful board, 
Shall make us.fad next morning. B. Jonfun. 
The fead was ferv’d, the bowl was crown’d, 
To the king’s pleafure went the mirthful round. Prior. 
MIRTHFULLY, adv. In a merry manner.—This 
nephla is an oily or fat liquid fubflance, in colour not 
unlike foft white clay; of quality hot and dry, fo as it 
.is apt to inflame with the funbeams, or heat that iflues 
from fire; as was mirthfully experimented upon one of 
Alexander’s pages, who, being anointed, with much ado 
efcaped burning. Herbert's Travels. 
MIRTHLESS, adj. Joylefs; cheerlefs: 
Sion’s doleful date, defolate ; 
•Sacked, burned, and inthrali’d; 
And the temple fpoil’d, which we ne’er fliould fee. 
To our mirtlilefs minds we call’d. Bonne's Pf. 137. 
- \ 
MI'RY, adj. [from mire.'] Deep in mud; muddy.— 
Thou fltould’d have heard how her horfe fell, and fhe 
under her horfe: thou Ihould’d have heard in how miry 
a place, how fhe was bemoiled. S/iaheJ’peare’s Taming of 
the Shrew. —All men who lived lazy lives, and died natu¬ 
ral deaths, by ficknefs or by age, went into vad caves 
under-ground, ail dark and miry, full of noifome crea¬ 
tures, and there grovelled in endlefs dench and mifery. 
Temple. 
Deep, through a miry lane fhe pick’d her way ; 
Above her ancle role the chalky clay. Gay's Trivia. 
Confiding of mire: 
Shall thou and I fit round about fome fountain. 
Looking all downwards to behold our cheeks, 
How they are dain’d like meadows, yet not dry, 
With miry flime left on them by a flood ? Shakrfpeare. 
MIRZAGUN'GE, a town of Hindooflan, in Bengal: 
feventy-five miles fouth-fouth-eafl of Mahmudpour. 
M I S 
MIRZAPOU'R, a town of Hindooflan, r» Bengal; 
twelve miles fouth-wed of Kifhnagur. 
MIRZAPOU'R, a town of Hindooflan, in Oude : thir¬ 
ty-three miles north-eafl of Kairabad. 
MIRZAPOU'R, a town of Hindooflan, in Allahabad : 
eighteen miles wed of Chunargur, and forty-one fouth- 
eafl of Allahabad. Lat. 25. 10. N. Ion. 82. 49. E. 
MIR'ZIN, or Wolein, a town of Moravia, in the 
circle of Iglau : twelve miles ead of Iglau. 
MIS. An infeparable particle ufed in compofition to 
mark an ill fenfe, or depravation of the meaning: as, 
chance, luck ; mifchance, ill luck: computation, reckoning; 
mi/computation, falfe reckoning : to like, to be pleafed ; to 
mif ike, to be offended: from mcs, in Teutonic and French, 
ufed in the fame fenfe. Of this it is difficult to give all 
the examples; but thofe that follow will fufficiently ex¬ 
plain it. Jo/mfon. —It is the Saxon mif, from the Gothic 
mijja; both which are often found in compofition, denoting 
error, deleft, or diflimilitude. Todd. —It feems then, that 
the fyllable mis, being common both to the Gothic and 
to the French fountain of our language, may, with equal 
propriety, accompany words from either : yet we fliould 
liefitate, I think, to couple it with words of Greek ori¬ 
gin, and fliould feel as unwelcome novations fuch terms 
as mifphilofophize, mi I prophetic, mifrhetoric. The primary 
meaning of mis is not eafily afcertained. Johnfon defines 
the adverb amijs, which has the fame etymon, “ not right, 
out of order:” of arrows, which do not hit the mark, we 
fay that they mifs. I fufpeft that the word was originally 
ufed of weapons ; and that it meant not merely “ to avoid,” 
but “ to graze, to touch injurioufly;” for ideas of difap- 
pointment, of difapprobation, and of injury, feem aflo- 
ciated with its meaning. Befides, a rude language is not 
likely to have had a pofitive term for exprefling the mere 
negation of aftion. Nor could mcif'cl mean a chijel, un- 
lels meijfen had once meant to fcratch. Monthly Mag. 
MI'SA, f. in old records, a compaft, a firm peace. 
MI'S A, a river of Naples, which runs into the Adriatic 
in lat. 43. 43. N. Ion. 13. 12. E. 
MIS ACCEPTATION, J'. The aft of taking in a 
wrong fenfe. 
MISACCOM'PTED, adj. Mifreckoned ; counted 
wrong. Chaucer. 
MISADVENTURE, f. Mifchance; misfortune; ill- 
luck ; bad fortune.—When a commander, either upon 
neceffity or mifadventure, falleth into danger, it much ad- 
vanceth both his reputation and enterprize, if bravely he 
behaveth hirnfelf. Hayicard. 
Your looks are pale and wild, and do import 
Some mijadventure. Shakefpcare. 
Misadventure, in law, has an efpecial fignification 
for the killing a man partly by negligence, and partly by 
chance. See Homicide, vol. x. p. 259. 
MISADVEN'TURED, adj. Unfortunate: 
From forth the fatal loins of thefe two foes, 
A pair of Aar-crofl lovers take their life; 
Whofe mifadventur'd piteous overthrows 
Do with their death bury their parents’ Arife. Shahefp. 
MISADVI'CE, f. Bad advice ; ill counfel. 
To MISADVI'SE, v. a. To advife to any thing wrong j 
to advife to a wrong meafure. 
MISADVI'SED, adj. Ill direfted. 
MISADVI'SING, f. The aft of giving bad advice. 
To MISAFFECT', v.a. To diflike ; not to be fond of. 
.—That peace which you have hitherto fo perverfely mif- 
afj'cfted. Milton. 
‘ MISAFFEC'TED, adj. Ill affefted; ill difpoled.—The 
whole body groans under fuch heads, and all the mem¬ 
bers mud needs be mifaffedled. Burton's Anat. of Melan¬ 
choly. 
To MISAFFIR'M, t;. a. To date incorreftly; to affirm 
faifely.—I fuppole it no injury to the dead, but a good 
deed rather to the iiving, if by better information given 
themu 
